Toby Rudiger, the German national team center-back, believes that to win the 2024 UEFA European Championship, the team should draw inspiration from his club side, Real Madrid.
Upon joining the national team training camp on June 5, Rudiger commented, “While the national team faces different challenges than the club, we can learn a lot from the ‘killer instinct’ that Real Madrid displayed last season.”
In the recently concluded 2023-2024 season, Rudiger helped Real Madrid secure the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga title, and the UEFA Champions League. Following their victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on June 2, the 31-year-old defender immediately joined the national team for the preparations of the home-hosted Euro tournament. Midfield veteran Toni Kroos also returned, marking the end of his club career and embarking on the final chapter of his professional career with the national team.
In a recent friendly against Ukraine, which ended in a goalless draw, Germany had 27 shots without finding the back of the net. Rudiger, who missed the match due to not being fully integrated into the squad, observed after the game, “That might have been the most entertaining 0-0 I’ve seen. We just lacked a bit of luck. The team can certainly take some lessons from Real Madrid.”
Germany will kick off their group stage on June 14 against Scotland, followed by matches against Hungary on June 19 and Switzerland on June 24. Rudiger urged his teammates to stay grounded amidst high expectations, reminding them of the lessons learned from the team’s group-stage exits in the previous two major tournaments.
The team will face Greece in a friendly on June 7, their final tune-up before the Euro 2024 campaign officially begins.