The quarter-finals of the European Nations Cup witnessed…Euro 2024“, currently held in Germany and will continue until July 14, a bitter farewell to the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo and the German Tony CrossAfter their national teams were eliminated from the tournament by France and Spain, respectively.
The Portuguese team lost to its French counterpart on penalties 5-3, after the regular and extra time ended in a goalless draw, while the German team was eliminated after its exciting loss to its Spanish counterpart, 2-1, after the match went into extra time.
The Portuguese star left Cristiano Ronaldofrom the Euro 2024 Championship without scoring any goals during the tournament and without counting penalty kicks, which is something that has happened for the first time in his football career at the level of major tournaments (World Cup and European Nations Cup), since the beginning of his international career during the Euro 2004 Championship, which was hosted by Portugal.
Ronaldo
The Portuguese star has failed to score any goal in his last nine matches at major tournaments, as his last goal was against Ghana during the last World Cup 2022 in Qatar, during the group stage, and since then he has not scored any goal against Uruguay, South Korea, Switzerland, and Morocco in the 2022 World Cup, in addition to the Czech Republic, Turkey, Georgia, Slovenia, and France in the current version of the Euro 2024 Championship.
During his international career, Cristiano Ronaldo has managed to score at least one goal in all the major tournaments he participated in, starting with Euro 2004, through the 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016, the 2018 World Cup, Euro 2020 (played in 2021) and the 2022 World Cup.
The Saudi Al-Nassr star has not decided his future with the Portuguese national team, after bidding farewell to the Euro 2024 tournament, as it is expected that the 2026 World Cup will be his last in his career with his country’s national team, according to what he stated in previous press statements.
The Spanish national team ended the career of German star Toni Kroos in football, after eliminating the German national team from the quarter-finals, by defeating them 2-1, which was the last match in the career of the Real Madrid star, after he announced that last May.
Toni Kroos’s football career ended on a very bitter note, as he wanted to win the Euro 2024 title, after he succeeded with his club Real Madrid in winning 3 titles during the current season, which are the Spanish League, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup.
Tony Cross
Kroos, 34, played 832 matches during his career, and achieved 36 titles with Germany and the clubs he played for, and the European Nations Cup title is the only one he failed to win during his career.
Toni Kroos said in press statements: “It is normal for me to be sad and everyone is sad. The match was very close. In the first half, Spain was better, but after their goal, we were superior and had opportunities.”
He added: “The match almost went to penalties, but they scored a goal and we didn’t.”
He continued: “This is my last match and I am proud of my team. We have taken a step forward compared to the past months, and this team will improve.”