Kieran Tierney’s departure on a stretcher encapsulated his career over recent seasons

This tournament was a timely opportunity for Tierney to remind the world what he can do. But now it looks like his involvement is over.

Scotland's Kieran Tierney leaves the field after an injury during a Group A match between Scotland and Switzerland at Euro 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

ONCE UPON A TIME, big tournaments were a trip into the unknown, players coming up against opponents they might only have heard of if they were avid watchers of Eurosport or readers of World Soccer.

But such is the multinational nature of club football, especially in the Premier League, that clubmates are facing each other in game after game at Euro 2024. Last night was no exception as two former Arsenal team-mates, whose careers have gone in opposite directions, faced each other in Cologne.