Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane Aim for Resurgence in Euro 2024 Round of 16 for the Glory

Even though the greatest names in European football have not been able to dominate the tournament, Euro 2024 has wowed with fantastic games and energetic supporters lighting up cities across Germany. Many of football’s biggest stars have performed poorly in the group stage due to injury issues, questionable form, and terrible luck.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a striker for Portugal who is competing in his record sixth Euros, has not scored in three games. Should he succeed, he will hold the record for the oldest goalscorer at the competition at 39 years old.

In a frustrating 1-1 draw against Poland, Kylian Mbappe, who is perhaps the best player in the world, misses the mark only once for France, which ends up placing second in Group D.

Mbappe wasted a fantastic opportunity against Austria, missing a tie with a broken nose against the Netherlands, and then making a mask-wearing comeback in Les Bleus’ third match.

With a match against Belgium in the round of 16 approaching, France coach Didier Deschamps expressed optimism that the attacker will rapidly return to his devastating best. “He’s hungry to play and the game would have done him some good.”

Due to a thigh issue, Poland’s talisman Robert Lewandowski was unable to play in their opening loss to the Netherlands.

Before scoring a penalty in the France draw, the Barcelona striker was ineffectual off the bench against Austria, which led to his elimination along with his nation.

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, two English players, scored goals against Serbia and Denmark, respectively, from open play, although they have significantly underperformed after having successful seasons at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

England manager Gareth Southgate gave Kane a rough time in a dull 1-1 draw with Denmark, but the team’s 0-0 loss to Slovenia was even more dismal.

“Not every player is going to be the star of every game,” Southgate stated following the match.

After having successful seasons for Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, respectively, Phil Foden of England and Antoine Griezmann of France have similarly failed to score.

After benching Griezmann for the last group game, Deschamps observed, “Sometimes his generosity means he doesn’t have as clear a head as he should have.”

Romelu Lukaku, the all-time leading scorer for Belgium, is also without a goal, but not for want of effort—three of his team’s goals were disallowed by VAR as they finished second in Group E.

The 38-year-old Luka Modric, a mainstay of Croatia’s often spectacular exploits, did manage to score against Italy, but only after missing a penalty kick and having a difficult time in the opening two games, which ultimately resulted in his team’s elimination.

Amazingly, seven own goals have been scored, accounting for 26% of the 27 unintentional goals that have been scored in the competition’s history. For various reasons, even the guys who have performed exceptionally well so far have mostly come as a surprise.

Also Read: UEFA Euro 2024 Round of 16: Complete Schedule, Teams, Venues, and Timings

Despite going to Saudi Arabia a year ago, N’Golo Kante is still crucial for France, while teenage Jamal Musiala is Germany’s best player, outperforming seasoned players Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kai Havertz.

Similar to Musiala, target man Niclas Fullkrug has scored twice for Germany. Ivan Schranz of Slovakia and Razvan Marin of Romania have both scored twice.

With a 3-2 loss to Austria, Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo scored his second goal with style, capping a “appalling” performance by coach Ronald Koeman.

Georges Mikautadze of Georgia, who is playing his first tournament, leads the scoring with three goals, two of which came from the penalty spot.

Spain has probably been the team of the tournament thus far, finishing first in Group B with one game remaining. However, two of their main players, Marc Cucurella and Fabian Ruiz, were unexpected picks.

Fans are still waiting for the tournament’s big personalities to join the celebration, since there are still 15 matches to go before one of the 16 remaining teams is named winner in Berlin on July 14.