There are only a few days left before the start of the European Football Championship, All participants have decided on their applications. Sports presents a list of star football players who were left without the main tournament of the last two years. Some deservedly were not included in the squad, while others’ absence became a sensation.
Mats Hummels (Germany) Hummels is 35 years old, a veteran who started playing for the national team back in 2010, became the 2014 World Champion, and was included in the symbolic team of the tournament, and also won bronze at Euro 2012 and Euro 2016. In total, he has almost 80 matches for the national team, a person with such experience would certainly not hurt. Moreover, last season Hummels experienced a renaissance and helped Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League final. He himself was ready to go to the Euro even as the fifth central defender, but Julian Nagelsmann decided to bet on others. It is noteworthy that the specialist did not include other leaders of the shooting Borussia in the application – Niklas Süle, Emre Can, Julian Brandt.Leon Goretzka (Germany)Another controversial decision by Nagelsmann. The Bayern midfielder has been actively called up to the national team for ten years, playing at the last two World Cups and Euro 2020. In addition, the footballer had a good club season, scoring 6 goals and 11 assists in 42 matches in all tournaments. It is unlikely that he is inferior, for example, to his young teammate Aleksandar Pavlovich or Pascal Gros from Brighton, who will go to the Euro. Nagelsmann recently admitted that he had a difficult conversation with Hummels and Goretzka, and it is unlikely that they were happy with the coach's decision. If Germany fail at the Euros, the coach will definitely be remembered for his choice.
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) The Barcelona midfielder is a key player for the Netherlands in the midfield and in the team as a whole. The 27-year-old footballer has been defending the orange colors for six years on an uncontested basis. But last season he suffered from several difficult ankle injuries, which caused him to miss a lot of games not only with the club, but also in the selection for Euro 2024. At the end of April, de Jong was injured again, which made the Netherlands nervous. The midfielder was included in the preliminary lists, but closer to the tournament it became clear that he would not have time to fully recover. So Ronald Koeman had to urgently look for a replacement, which was Ian Matsen, who sparkled with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Timo Werner (Germany) 
The position of the central striker has been the most problematic for the Euro 2024 hosts for many years. Since Miroslav Klose retired, the Bundesteam have not had a clear top-level forward. Against this background, Werner seemed to have virtually no alternative figure; by the age of 28, he had managed to play more than fifty matches for the Bundesteam. Including taking part in the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, he missed the 2022 World Cup due to injury. It is interesting that Nagelsmann did not call up the striker, although he is well aware of his capabilities to work together at Leipzig. But here there are fewer questions for the coach, since Werner did not spend the best six months at Tottenham, where he scored only two goals in 14 matches.
Gavi (Spain) The Spaniard is not yet 20 years old, but he has more than a hundred matches for Barcelona, as well as 27 games for the national team. It was he who was the youngest debutant of the national team before Lamin Yamal appeared. It is obvious that this is a footballer around whom the national team will be built for many years. It was all the more offensive for him to receive a severe knee injury in the meaningless Euro 2024 qualifying match with Georgia (3:1). Gavi then left the field in tears, realizing that he was left without football for a long time. It was in November, but even six months was not enough to recover for the European Championships. By the way, Barcelona fans were very angry with Luis de la Fuente for not taking care of the prodigy.
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)The experienced goalkeeper has a difficult relationship with the national team. You can recall his conflict with his main competitor for the status of number one, Simon Mignolet, or the story with Kevin De Bruyne, from whom he stole his girlfriend. Courtois also quarreled with Domenico Tedesco, who deprived the veteran of the captain's armband, which caused him public outrage. Nevertheless, the Real Madrid goalkeeper remained indispensable for the national team, and there is no scandalous background to the current absence from the application. It's simple – Courtois missed almost the entire season due to a knee injury and was able to return to the field only in May. The goalkeeper played several matches and played superbly in the Champions League final, but Tedesco decided not to take risks, rightly believing that Thibault had not reached optimal shape.
Marcus Rashford (England)The Manchester United product made a name for himself in senior football very early on and was part of the national team at Euro 2016 at the age of 18. Rashford was always included in the squad for the next three major tournaments and played a total of 60 matches (17 goals, 6 assists). But the forward, like the rest of Manchester United, has frankly failed this season, so Gareth Southgate's choice didn't surprise anyone. In 48 matches at club level, Rashford has scored only eight goals, and his last goal was scored back in March. By the way, the striker reacted to not being included in the application with restraint and wished his teammates good luck.
Harry Maguire (England) 
Everything that has been said about Rashford applies equally to the Manchester United defender. In general, only two players were called up from Erik ten Hag's team – the experienced Luke Shaw and the young Kobby Meinu as an advance payment. As for Maguire, he, unlike Rashford, still had a slightly better chance of traveling to Germany, since the competition in the center of England's defense is not as high as in attack. The 31-year-old defender's health failed him – he missed the entire month of May due to a muscle injury. The veteran said that he was devastated by missing the tournament, and suggested that he was to blame, since he forced recovery, which only worsened the situation.
Jack Grealish (England) This is perhaps the main surprise in the England team. On the one hand, Grealish has not been a solid starter for Manchester City – making just 36 appearances across all competitions, in which he scored three goals and provided three assists. And in the final matches of the season he did not take the field at all. At the same time, Guardiola values the midfielder very much for his large amount of work, and he brought a lot of benefits to the national team. Suffice it to say that back in early June, Grealish played against Bosnia and Herzegovina (3:0), recording an assist, and a few days later he was released. The media wrote that Southgate's decision shocked not only the player himself, but also his partners, who as a team consoled him in his room after the squad was announced.
David Alaba (Austria) During the December match of the Spanish championship between Real and Villarreal, the entire football industry in Austria was shocked. At the end of the first half, Alaba was replaced due to injury, and examination confirmed a torn cruciate ligament in the knee. It became clear that only a miracle would help the captain of the national team recover for the European Championship. It didn’t happen – Alaba never returned to the field until the end of the season, so he will watch the national team from the sidelines. In addition to wearing the captain's armband, the defender was also close to the record for the most appearances for Austria (105). More often than not, only Marko Arnautovic (112), who will eventually go to Germany, defended the team colors.
Leonardo Bonucci (Italy) Three years ago, it was Bonucci who was recognized as the best player in Italy's victorious European Championship final. The defender has played for the national team since 2010 and ranks fourth in history in terms of the number of matches (121). Last summer, the veteran moved from Juventus to the German Union and publicly stated that he dreams of retiring just after Euro 2024. Already in the winter he went to Fenerbahçe, where he didn’t do well at all – only 11 matches, most of which were not in the starting lineup. It was obvious that with such statistics Luciano Spalletti would not call up a football player. And at the end of May, Bonucci announced that he was retiring from his career without realizing the dream of defending the European champion title.
Paul Pogba (France)A year and a half ago, the midfielder was unable to go to the 2022 World Cup due to injury and missed the opportunity to win silver medals. But by that time, he had won the 2018 World Cup and the 2020/21 Nations League, as well as the title of vice-champion of Europe in 2016. He had only nine matches left to play for the French national team before the beautiful number 100. Pogba would have already come close to the coveted mark if he had not been disqualified for four years for doping last February. Now, with a high degree of probability, not only his story in the national team will end, but also his career in principle.
Luca Hernandez (France)The PSG defender is an important player for Didier Deschamps. Under him, Hernandez made his debut for the national team, won the 2018 World Cup, took silver at the 2022 World Cup, and participated in Euro 2020. There is no doubt that the 28-year-old footballer would have gone to Germany, as he had a good season at the French giants, where he staked out the left flank of defense. But in the return semi-final of the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, just a month before the start of the European Championship, the defender tore his cruciate ligaments. At first, there was hope that everything would work out, but in the end, the PSG player will have to spend at least six months without football. Bad news for the French national team, but Deschamps has another Hernandez – Theo, who plays for Milan. Most likely, he will close the left flank for himself and his brother.
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