Euro 2020: 5 players who could retire from international football after the tournament
Euro 2020 will feature quite a few of the most experienced players in the game. Several top European sides have gone with a mixture of youth and experience with emphasis on the former as they head into the continental tournament.
Euro 2020 could very well be the final major international tournament for an array of top players who have had exciting careers in football. Plenty of these players have surprised us over the years with their endurance and longevity.
Euro 2020 will feature some of the best veterans in the game
A few players on the list are still among the most important members of their nation's squad heading into Euro 2020. But with so many exciting young talents breaking onto the international stage, it might be time for these veterans to call it quits on their careers with the national side.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who could retire from international football after the tournament.
#5 Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)
Russian veteran left-back Yuri Zhirkov has been a fixture in the national side. He is 37-years-old now and could call it a day on his 16-year international career at the end of the tournament.
Zhirkov has made 104 appearances for Russia and is one of the most revered figures in the country's footballing history. He has kept his fitness levels up even though he is in the twilight years of his career. Zhirkov made 20 appearances for Zenit St. Petersburg across all competitions this past season.
He has made twice as many appearances as Stanislav Cherchesov, the second most capped player in Russia's squad. Zhirkov has spent almost his entire career playing in Russia except for a couple of forgettable seasons he spent at Chelsea from 2009 to 2011.
But given his age, Euro 2020 could be the legendary Russian's last major tournament for his country.
#4 Lukasz Fabianski (Poland)
Lukasz Fabianski will go down in history as one of the most recognizable goalkeepers of the Premier League era. His consistent performances in the English top-flight in recent years have earned him a lot of plaudits. But the 36-year-old has only earned 56 caps for the Polish national side.
With Wojciech Szczęsny also in the mix, it remains to be seen if Fabianski will be Poland's first-choice to guard the net at Euro 2020. Despite being 36, Fabianski was excellent for West Ham United this past Premier League season.
He kept 10 cleansheets in 35 appearances for David Moyes' men as they secured a place in the UEFA Europa League with a sixth-placed finish. Fabianski is among an array of veterans who are expected to hang up their boots after Euro 2020.