in the wake of
European cup (e.g. soccer)
The end of the 1/8 finals saw teams such as Belgium, Austria, Italy and Romania regretfully go out of the competition, while several players who had been playing in the Chinese Super League failed to progress to the next round.
Belgium lost 0-1 against France, with Carrasco playing as a starter until the 88th minute, failing to help turn the tide. Carrasco played for Dalian Yifang in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Witsel, on the other hand, failed to feature in Austria's match against Turkey, despite having played for Tianjin Quanjian between 2017 and 2018.
Italy were defeated 0-2 against Switzerland, with Xavi making his debut but was substituted in the 46th minute. Salavi had played for Shanghai Shenhua from 2019 to 2021.
Austria also suffered a loss as they went down 1-2 against Turkey. Arnautovic played the entire match as a debutant, having played for Shanghai SIPG between 2019 and 2021.
Finally, Stanciu made his debut for Romania against the Netherlands, but the team ended up losing 0-3. Stanciu previously played for Wuhan Triple Town from 2022 to 2023.
These former Chinese Super League (CSL) players failed to help their national teams to victory in this round of Europa League matches, ending their campaign in this tournament.
