Legendary midfielder Toni Kroos has officially retired from professional football after Germany’s 2-1 loss to Spain saw them exit the EURO 2024. La Roja’s 2-1 extra time win over the Euro 2024 hosts in the quarterfinal brought the curtain down on a glittering career for the Real Madrid stalwart.
Chelsea have shown further interest in Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak. The Blues’ new boss Enzo Maresca is keen on adding a proven Premier League goal scorer to his ranks, and after accessing their options, they’ve decided that the Newcastle target man [Isak] fits the bill. Newcastle might consider the deal even if they’re not willing to sell, as they have to sell a player to comply with Profitability and Sustainability Regulations [PSR] before July 1 and would be looking for close to £100m to consider selling their star striker.
Reigning European Champions Italy were dumped out of Euro 2024 at the Round of 16 stage by a resilient Switzerland side, making them the third successive country to go out at that stage. Ruben Vargas contributed twice in the 2-0 triumph that sent them to the quarterfinals for the second successive edition, assisting Freuler for the first and then netting the second.
Belgium are finally up and running at Euro 2024 as they beat Romania [who beat Ukraine 3-0 on MD1] in Cologne to take control of Group E. Goals in both half from Youri Tielemans and the irresistible Kevin De Bruyne inflicted the damage on a night where Domenico Tedesco’s hungry Red Devils flaunted their attacking quality. After five agonising days of frustration following Monday’s infuriating 1-0 defeat to Slovakia in Frankfurt, Belgium flew out of the traps in style.
Bayern Munich have reached an agreement with Crystal Palace to sign winger Michael Olise, according to several journalists’ reports. The Bundesliga giants will pay €60m (£50.7m) including add-ons to bring the 22 year old to the Allianz Arena. It was reported last week that Bayern, Chelsea and Newcastle had approached Palace before Chelsea dropped out of the race to sign Olise. Chelsea offered the player a competitive financial package but he wanted to move to Bayern. He is now expected to sign a contract until 2029 with Vincent Kompany’s side.
Host Germany kicked off Euro 2024 in spectacular fashion on Friday, hammering 10 man Scotland 5-1 in Munich to record the biggest opening match victory in European Championship history. First half goals from Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz put the result beyond doubt early on, before Niclas Füllkrug and Emre Can, who wasn’t even in the squad 48 hours ago, added gloss to the score line in the second period. Antonio Rüdiger’s own goal in the 87th minute was nothing more than a consolation but gave the Scotland fans a moment to remember on a difficult night.
The Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualification chances were further cut short last week after two disaster class games against South Africa and Benin Republic, edging out a draw against bafana bafana, and then going on to lose against Benin Republic three days later.
With the Euro 2024 squads submitted, BRUTAL decisions were made by managers across the continent as they revealed their squads for this year’s tournament. Some players that were cut were injured along the line during the season, and others didn’t qualify. Several big names were surprisingly missing, and so black sports live have decided to make an XI of the best players that will miss the Euro 2024:
Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire have been left out of England’s final squad for Euro 2024. Maguire misses out due to a calf injury that has kept him out of action since mid April, while his Manchester United teammate Luke Shaw makes the cut despite not having played since February due to a hamstring problem, but Grealish and Maddison were second to Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon in Gareth Southgate’s metric, which means they’ll have to watch from home.
A bullish Erik ten Hag hit back after Man Utd’s FA Cup final win against Man City as uncertainty continues to surround his future at the club. The Dutchman’s side beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley to win the FA Cup, goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo securing a second trophy in two seasons under Ten Hag, and also securing a place in the 2024/25 Europa League.
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