Euro 2024: Toni Kroos' Comeback Spoiled as Spain Knocks Out Hosts Germany in Extra Time

On Friday, July 5, Toni fantasy comeback was dashed when Spain scored the game-winning goal in the last minute of extra time. Spain relied heavily on their attacking midfield players to win the quarterfinal encounter at Stuttgart’s MHPArena by a narrow margin of 2-1 thanks to goals from Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino. In the quarterfinal match against Spain, Germany attempted to overachieve in the second half and then in extra time, but the Spanish team shown remarkable fortitude to remain afloat in the face of a tremendous German offensive onslaught.

The referee was busy from the opening minute of the match, and there were several issues of contention throughout. Within the opening ten minutes, famed German midfielder Toni Kroos lunged at Pedri, taking his knee and outing the player. After being struck on the shin, Pedri went down and was unable to go past the eight-minute mark. It should be mentioned that despite what appeared to be an unambiguous infraction, referee Antony Taylor did not issue Kroos a yellow card.

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A hillarious turn of event

After disregarding at least two more violations from Toni, Taylor made a hilarious turn of events in the 13th minute when he booked Antonio Rudiger for his first challenge of the match. From then on, it was all out, with 15 yellow cards throughout the match, including one that was converted from yellow to red. The entire incident resulted in a handball call against Marc Cucurella of Spain inside the penalty box in extra time (106th minute), when the ball struck the flailing left-back’s arm. The German players objected, but the referee and VAR decided it was okay.

Toni Kross se despediu do futebol com uma eliminação, mas com uma carreira GIGANTE.

Com CERTEZA é um dos maiores e melhores meio-campistas da história.

Foi um privilégio acompanhar a carreira desse cara… pic.twitter.com/rzbQl0YhiV
— Resenha da Bola⚽📝 (@Resenhadb) July 5, 2024

Niklas FullKrug and Florian Writz both squandered excellent opportunities to score in the extra period of play, and the Germans would undoubtedly have to take the responsibility for the defeat given their wastefulness in front of goal throughout the game. Most remarkably, though, it was Kai Havertz who was miles off his line and failed to convert a goal against Spain’s goalkeeper, Unai Simon. throughout a very close game between the European heavyweights, Havertz’s lob that flew high above the bar caused an audible gasp throughout the stadium.

Youthful Spain shines as late drama ensures victory against Germany.

Throughout most of the match, Spain relied heavily on their youth, with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamai controlling the flanks on each side. In the 51st minute of the game, Dani Olmo broke the deadlock with a brilliant run from Yamal, who cut in from the right and lay it off for Spain’s first goal. Spain displayed some exquisite passes In the second half of the match, Yamal was substituted in the 63rd minute and Nico Williams in the 80th.

This is where Germany’s chances of winning altered. In an attempt to find an equalizer, coach Julian Nagelsmann made five replacements. His gamble paid off in the 89th minute, when Florian Wirtz—the Bundesliga’s player of the year for champion Bayer Leverkusen hammered home a header from Joshua Kimmich to send the game into overtime.

As the game entered the 119th minute, it appeared to be headed to a penalty shootout until substitute Merino scored the game-winning header off of Olmo’s cross. In an attempt to prevent a counterattack, fullback Dani Carvajal was sent off after earning a second yellow card for tackling Jamal Musiala. The home team, Germany, pressed hard for a late equalizer. He and center back Robin Le Normand will not play in the semifinals as Spain persevered to go to the last four and face either Portugal or France on Friday.