10 Players Who Will Miss Euros 2024: The UEFA Euros 2024 will commence on Saturday, June 15 (IST) with hosts Germany taking on Scotland. This is the biggest international football tournament in the world after the FIFA World Cup.
24 nations will compete for the ultimate glory in European football in this competition which takes place only once every four years. Italy will walk into this tournament as the defending champions, looking to win the Euros for the third time in their history.
With these big international tournaments taking place at the end of long and grueling seasons, it is natural that several players will miss these competitions due to injuries. Couple that with several big names who are not picked for national duty because of bad form results in a large pool of great players who will not appear in the UEFA Euros.
Here is the list of the seven most high-profile players who are set to miss Euros 2024. As a bonus, we will also add some players who will miss out on playing for the biggest teams in the competition.
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10 Players Who Will Miss Euros 2024
10) Sandro Tonali – Italy
Sandro Tonali has the strangest reason for missing out on the Euros, and arguably the most serious one.
After his shock transfer from boyhood club AC Milan to Newcastle United, he impressed the Geordie fanbase at his new club. But only weeks into his stint in England, his name came up in a massive betting scandal. In October 2023, he was banned from all football for 10 months. This ban will last up to August 2024, the start of the next season.
Other notable players missing for Italy: Domenico Berardi, Francesco Acerbi, Marco Verrati, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Destiny Udogie.
9) Lucas Hernandez – France
Lucas Hernandez’s campaign for France in international tournaments has been cursed by injuries. In the 2022 World Cup, France reached the final, he only played 13 minutes in the tournament due to suffering an ACL injury in the opening game of the tournament.
Hernandez, who won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain this season, suffered a ligament tear in his left knee in the Champions League semi-final. This injury will keep him out of action for 6-7 months, so he will miss the Euros.
Other notable players missing for France: Christopher Nkunku, Paul Pogba.
8) Marcus Rashford – England
It is a shame that Jack Grealish not being selected for the England squad is not the biggest surprise. One of the most highly touted strikers in the world back in 2023, Grealish has had a dismal 2023-24 season, scoring only eight goals in 43 appearances.
Marcus Rashford played a big role in England’s 2022 World Cup campaign. When asked about Rashford not being selected for the squad, England manager Gareth Southgate reasoned that other players have had a far better season than the Manchester United front-man.
Other notable players missing for England: James Maddison, Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Raheem Sterling, Ben White, Jordan Henderson
7) Gavi – Spain
Gavi is out for 6-7 months with a cruciate ligament tear in his right knee. One of the finest young players in the world, Gavi suffered his injury during a UEFA Euro 2024 qualification game against Georgia.
Barcelona was furious with the Spanish national team for playing the 19-year-old in the meaningless match against Georgia, as the team had already qualified for the match before. Gavi would have most definitely started in the Euros for Luis de la Fuente’s side.
Other notable players missing for Spain: Alejandro Balde, Pau Torres, Pedro Porro
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6) Mats Hummels – Germany
The exclusion of Mats Hummels from the German side might be the most surprising omission of a player in this whole tournament. The veteran centre-backs had a splendid campaign with Borussia Dortmund, especially in the Champions League where the club reached the final.
The host Germany under Julian Nagelsmann has decided to pick Jonathan Tah in the squad, who impressed Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen
Other notable players missing for Germany: Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Julian Brandt, Jarim Adeyemi, Timo Werner
5) David Alaba – Austria
Out of all the players on this list, David Alaba’s exclusion from his national team would make the biggest impact on his team. The versatile defender/midfielder has been an absolute gem for Real Madrid for the past few years.
Alaba suffered an ACL tear in his left knee back in December during a La Liga fixture against Villarreal, While he will likely recover before the start of the upcoming season, he will not be able to feature for Austria in the Euros 2024.
Other notable players missing for Austria: Alexander Schlager, Xaver Schlager
4) Martin Odegaard – Norway
One of the two players on this list missing the Euros due to not qualifying, Martin Odegaard was amongst the best midfielders in the world last season. The Arsenal captain led his side from the front and very nearly won the North London club their first Premier League title in 20 years.
It is quite obvious why Odegaard will not play in Euros 2024, his side Norway, who is going through a golden period of talent, did not qualify for the tournament. The talent from Norway’s golden generation is so great, that they might just have the best player in the world among their ranks, that being –
3) Erling Haaland – Norway
It would not at all be controversial to state that Erling Haaland is one of the best footballers in the world at the moment. Despite many calling it a slow season for Haaland, he scored 333 goals for Manchester City in 2023-24.
Another member of Norway’s golden generation, Haaland will also miss this tournament due to his nation not qualifying for Euros 2024.
2) Frankie de Jong – Netherlands
Frankie de Jong is one of the best midfielders in the world, so it came as no surprise when he was picked for the Netherlands squad for the UEFA Euros 2024 despite being injured. De Jong suffered an ankle injury during the El Classico in April 2024.
With no signs pointing to him being able to heal before the tournament, the 27-year-old withdrew from the tournament.
Other notable players missing for the Netherlands: Sven Botman, Marten de Roon, Teun Koopmeiners, Jurrien Timber, Joshua Zirkzee
1) Thibaut Courtois – Belgium
Thibaut Courtois’ omission from the Belgium squad for the Euros 2024 is a story-and-a-half, especially now that he is all healed up. While many thought that he is not a part of the squad due to an ACL injury he suffered at the start of the season, he returned to Real Madrid and even played the ECL final against Dortmund.
The real reason behind one of the best goalkeepers in the world not representing his side in an international tournament is his very public dust-up with Belgium manager Dominico Tedesco. Tedesco claimed that Courtois will only be a part of the squad if named captain, meanwhile, the keeper has denied these claims and said he wants to clear things up. But that would not happen in time for the Euros.
Whatever the reason, Courtois not being in the squad will be a huge blow for Belgium, who are at the end of their golden generation.
Other notable players missing for Belgium: Michy Batshuayi, Thorgan Hazard, Dries Mertens, Romeo Lavia, Hans Vanakan
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