Sports
Kroos Sorry Over Pedri’s Injury
Toni Kroos has apologised for injuring Pedri in Germany’s Euro 2024 loss to Spain, insisting it was “not my intention”.
Pedri was forced off in the first few minutes of the quarter-final on Friday, having hit the turf after a foul from Kroos.
The latter avoided a booking for the tackle but received a yellow card later in the game, which Spain won in the final moments of extra time.
Pedri, 21, will not feature for Spain in their semi-final against France or be fit for the final, should his nation qualify, while Kroos, 34, was playing his final ever match on Friday.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, the Germany midfielder wrote, “Very important to me: Apologies to @pedri and wishing you a good recovery!
“It was obviously not my intention to injure you. Swift recovery and all the best. You are a great player.”
Elsewhere in his post, Kroos said: “I didn’t expect us, in such a short space of time, to be able to have a realistic shot at winning the title and to get back on par with the best teams. For that reason, I’m so proud of what this team achieved.”
Germany trailed Spain through a Dani Olmo goal, but the Euros hosts equalised in the 89th minute when Florian Wirtz scored. However, Mikel Merino struck in the 118th minute, as Spain triumphed in extra time to eliminate Julian Nagelsmann’s team.
It was the coach’s first tournament in charge of Germany, who were knocked out of the last two World Cups in the group stage and exited the previous Euros in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Spain have confirmed Pedri’s injury as a grade two knee sprain.
La Roja reached the semi-finals on Friday after they beat the hosts 2-1 in Stuttgart.
But they will now have to do without the Barcelona midfielder for the remainder of the tournament.
In a statement from the Spanish Football Federation at the weekend, they confirmed that Pedri suffered a grade two lateral knee sprain after a heavy challenge from Toni Kroos.
It means that Pedri will miss the rest of the tournament but the midfielder “will stay in Germany and support his team mates”, according to the RFEF.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
-
News4 days agoFUBARA PLEDGES STRONG PARTNERSHIP WITH NDE TO TACKLE UNEMPLOYMENT …..Says Oyorokoto Beach Fronts’ Expansion’ll Create More Jobs, Business Opportunities For Rivers People
-
Niger Delta4 days agoBayelsa Partners Chinese Firm On Road, Agric, Other Projects
-
Sports4 days ago
ATLANTICBELL CEO ADVICE SPORTS WRITERS ON SPECIALIZATION
-
Maritime4 days agoDANTSOHO Calls For Synergy In Revamping Nation’s Ports
-
News4 days agoFUBARA HAILS PROGRESS OF WORK ON TRANS-KALABARI ROAD
-
Oil & Energy4 days agoSupermajors Bet Big on Long-Term Oil Demand
-
News4 days agoRivers Gov EULOGISES LATE FOOTBALL COACH, PA MONDAY SINCLAIR
-
Niger Delta4 days agoNOA Urges A’Ibom Residents On CVR Participation