This is what Toni Kroos, who escaped the exhibition, said after the last game of his career

His Spanish teammates teased that they would withdraw him as soon as possible, but he understood the joke. The midfielder, who won this year’s Champions League for Real Madrid, announced long before the European Championship that he would retire following the tournament, so every game in the straight elimination phase might be his last. In the end, it was really the Spanish who withdrew it, which did not depend on much: the winning goal was scored in the 119th minute, when everyone was ready for the penalty shootout.

Toni Kroos was sent off following being sent off. Photo: EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI

The Germans following the game they immediately blamed the referee, who did not award them a penalty in extra time at 1-1 due to a spectacular handshake by the Spanish, but Kroos did not go into this topic in his TV statement following the whistle. With good reason, of course, since his career might have ended worse than this: at the beginning of the match, he brutally cut down Pedri, who was injured and can no longer play at the European Championship, but Kroos escaped the incident without a card. As he received a yellow card in the second half, the question arises whether he should have stayed on the field the whole time…

Toni Kroos following his last game

Of course, the defeat suffered due to a late goal was still bitter for Kroos in the last game of his career, his words Bild quoted by:

“We gave everything, we fought for each other, and losing like that hurts even more,” said Kroos. – At the moment, the feelings swirling in me due to the elimination exceed the fact that this was my last match. We had a big goal, a common dream, which has now dissipated. But a little later we will realize that we played a good tournament. We can all be proud. I’m glad that I was able to contribute a little to the revival of football in Germany, because there is a need for it.

The career of 34-year-old Toni Kroos has thus been definitively ended. He will finish as a six-time WC winner and with a world championship title under his belt from 2014, to mention only his biggest titles. Among football’s most important trophies, the only one he missed was European Championship gold, and he won’t get it anymore.

European Championship, quarter-finals
Spain-Germany 2-1 (1-1, 1-1, 0-0), scorers: Dani Olmo (52nd), Merino (119th) and Wirtz (89th)