UEFA Euro 2020: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland and Other Top Players Who Won’t be Part of This Year’s European Championship
The European Championships, commonly known as the Euros, is one of those coveted tournaments where players dream of performing. It is one of those stages where a player can make history and with the incredible amount of talent missing out of this year’s competition, we can only hope it turns out to be a good one. Here is a list of five star players who would be missing the Euro 2020. Euro 2020 or Euro 2021? Here’s What UEFA has to Say About Tournament’s Name After it Was Postponed Due to COVID-19
1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had recently announced in March that he is coming out international retirement, has unfortunately been sidelined for Euro 2020. The 39-year old AC Milan striker suffered an injury to his knee during his side’s crushing 3-0 victory over rivals Juventus in the Serie A and his unavailability for the Euros has been confirmed by the Swedish Football Association on Twitter. This is indeed a huge blow for the Sweden national team. “Today, Zlatan has informed [coach] Janne Andersson that his injury will stop him from participating in the European Championship this summer. Get well, Zlatan, we hope to see you on the football field again soon!” read their tweet.
2) Virgil van Dijk
One of the many reasons why Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool struggled to retain their Premier League title, was the absence of Virgil Van Dijk. And now, the Dutch defender has himself confirmed that he would be be sitting out of Euro 2020 with an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury which he had sustained last October.
“With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I’ve decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab during the off-season,” the 29-year old told Liverpool’s website. UEFA Euro 2020 Anthem: Official Song of the Tournament, We Are The People, by DJ Martin Garrix Featuring Bono and The Edge Released (Watch Video).
3) Marc-Andre Ter Stegen
After what has been a difficult season with Barcelona, goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen has been ruled out of Euro 2020 with an injury to his right knee. This was confirmed by the 29-year old on Instagram where he wrote, “I’m sad that I will miss the EURO 2020 this summer with Germany” after Barcelona shocking 1-2 loss to Celta Vigo in La Liga. The Germany goalkeeper, who has always played second fiddle to the star stopped Manuel Neuer, has won just 25 caps for his country. His absence would open up room for other young keepers to be Germany’s #2.
4) Erling Haaland
Watching Erling Haaland replicate his tremendous form and rip apart defences for Norway in Euro 2020 would indeed have been a treat to every football lover. But we would have to wait for it to happen because Norway failed to qualify for the coveted tournament, having been knocked out by qualification play-offs by Serbia. The 20-year striker, who already has 39 goals for Dortmund in as many appearances this season, has turned out to be one of the best young talents in world football and we hope to see this star in future Euro championships.
5) Jan Oblak
Jan Oblak, the goalkeeper who is one of the key reasons for Atletico Madrid’s success in club football, is another name missing out of Euro 2020 since Slovenia has failed to qualify for the competition. The 28-year star keeper, who has been one of Europe’s best shot-stoppers over the years, is second choice to Inter’s Samir Handanovic for Slovenia and his absence would be one of the big misses in the competition this year.
We would have loved to see aforementioned stars in the Euro 2020 but unfortunately won’t. However, Marco Verratti who was tipped to miss Euro 2020 is back on track after being named in the 33-man preliminary squad by Roberto Mancini for Italy’s friendly against San Marino on May 28, it can be understood that he isn’t just counted out of Italy’s plans yet, for Euro 2020. So fingers crossed for his inclusion.
(The above story first appeared on Today News 24 on May 18, 2021 11:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website todaynews24.top).
