Biggest stars yet to catch fire at Euro 2024
BERLIN – With exciting football and vibrant fans lighting up cities across Germany, Euro 2024 has thrilled even though the game’s biggest stars have failed to take the tournament by storm.
Between injury struggles, shaky form and bad luck, many leading lights have underwhelmed in the group phase.
Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo, playing at a record sixth Euro, is yet to strike in three appearances – if he manages to, the 39-year-old will become the oldest ever scorer at the tournament.
Arguably the best player in the world, Kylian Mbappe is only off the mark for France with a penalty against Poland in a disappointing 1-1 draw that resulted in the favourites finishing second in Group D.
The forward squandered a golden opportunity against Austria, missing a draw against the Netherlands with a broken nose before returning with a mask in Les Bleus’ third outing against the Poles.
“He’s hungry to play and the (Poland) game would have done him some good,” said France coach Didier Deschamps, hopeful his captain will quickly find his devastating best with a last-16 clash against Belgium beckoning.
Poland’s talisman Robert Lewandowski, a big name himself, could not feature in their opening defeat against the Netherlands because of a thigh problem.
The Barcelona striker and his country were eliminated as he was ineffective when he came off the bench against Austria, before he netted a penalty in the France draw.
England duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored from open play against Serbia and Denmark respectively but have under-performed considering how they thrived at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich this season.
“Not every player is going to star in every game,” said Three Lions boss Southgate afterwards.
France’s Antoine Griezmann and England’s Phil Foden – who has since left for the birth of his child – have also fired blanks after strong seasons for Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.
“Sometimes (Griezmann’s) generosity means he doesn’t have as clear a head as he should have,” added Deschamps, who benched the midfielder in the final group match.
Belgium’s all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku is also without a goal, having had three disallowed by VAR.
Veteran Luka Modric, 38, usually a key figure for Croatia, did score against Italy but only after missing a penalty and struggling in the first two matches, with his country eventually eliminated.
The players who have shone thus far have largely been surprises.
N’Golo Kante is proving key for France despite moving a year ago to play in Saudi Arabia, while talented youngster Jamal Musiala has been Germany’s key man ahead of veteran stars Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz.
Target man Niclas Fullkrug has scored twice for Germany like Musiala, while Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz and Romania’s Razvan Marin also have a pair of goals to their name.
Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo also has two goals, but the tournament’s current top scorer is debutants Georgia’s Georges Mikautadze with three goals, two of those from the penalty spot.
Spain qualified top of Group B with a perfect three wins and no goals conceded, but two of their key players have been unlikely candidates in Fabian Ruiz and Marc Cucurella.
With 15 matches still to play before one of the 16 remaining sides are crowned champions in Berlin on July 14, fans are still waiting for the tournament’s star names to join the party. AFP