Germany beat Scotland sovereignly in the opening of the European Championship. Toni Kroos’ assist statistics dazzled, but Ilkay Gündogan was “the secret midwife of the euphoric evening”, wrote der Spiegel.
European Football Championships on channels 14.6.–14.7. Go to the competition website from this link.
On Friday night, in the opening match of the European Championships, Germany blew away Scotland with 5-1 goals from their young stars Jamal Musialan (21-year-old), By Florian Wirtz (21) and Kai Havertz (25) shining. The world admires the successes of the attacking players, but in Germany the spotlight is on the experienced midfielders.
The overwhelming number one on the field was the 34-year-old who was ending his playing career at the Games Toni Kroos. His assist stats are fantastic to watch, with Kroos only missing one of his 102 passes.
– I don’t know if we are in the league after one match. If we continue in the same way in the next match, which will surely be more challenging – we will face a team (Hungary) who is better than Scotland. If we succeed in that, we can talk about a flight, Kroos said in an interview with television channel ZDF According to Sky Sports.
Earlier, Kroos said that the head coach Julian Nagelsmann persuaded him to join the German team. Nagelsmann commented on the matter before the Scotland match.
– I called him for the first time in November. The consultation took some time because he wanted to know how we would change the national team. When I told him, Toni said “I’ll come along, let’s rock,” Nagelsmann revealed at the press conference.
Among other things German media Focus to incense Kroos.
– He was almost forced out of Bayern Munich, he was often mocked as “diagonal Toni” in the national team shirt. He was even named a scapegoat after the disappointing 2021 European Championship, writes Focus.
Kroos moved from Germany’s big club Bayern to Spain’s Real Madrid in 2014. After that, Kroos was allowed to grow as a player in peace, the German media describes.
– Away from the German audience, Kroos matured in Spain and became the best passer in the history of the black-red-gold. In Madrid he was respected, but not here, Focus says.
German newspaper Bild again got excited to tell why you should trust Germany in the article titled “8 reasons to believe in our team”. Toni Kroos’ game number is 8.
– Kroos is the undisputed leader in the midfield. He wants to crown his massive career with the European championship. It is the only merit that is missing from his trophy cabinet, writes Bild.
“Secret Midwife of Euphoric Evening”
He played excellently in the midfield alongside Kroos Ilkay Gundogan33. The German captain performed with confidence when, among other things, he won a penalty kick for his team.
Defender of Scotland by Ryan Posteous The tackle looked so dangerous that Gündogan’s games were even feared to end short. Fortunately, he was able to continue and eventually played the entire match.
German magazine Spiegel again states that everyone who has searched the internet has seen Kroos’ wonderful statistics. Many, however, forgot about Gündogan, the magazine claims.
– Gündogan was the secret midwife of the euphoric evening. Wirtz’s 1-0 goal showed Gündogan’s invisible trademark: he ran into the penalty area, dragged the Scottish defense with him and thus made room for the scorer.
– He scored a 2-0 goal with a small deflection and pass past the multi-legged Scottish defense. The 3-0 goal came after Gündogan was fouled. He passed by Niclas Füllkrug With a 4–0 goal, Spiegel lists.
Emre Can came from vacation to score
Sports media Kicker write Emre Can about a “crazy story”. 30-year-old Can was already on vacation before I invited him to the European Championships. Nagelsmann took over as Germany’s head coach in September, and he had never before selected Can in his team.
Borussia Dortmund captain Can played well against Real Madrid in the Champions League final. After that, there was a summer vacation before the start of the club season.
A 20-year-old had already been selected for the team Aleksandar Pavlovic, but he had to withdraw due to tonsillitis. Can qualified for Germany and scored his team’s 5–1 goal in the opening game.
– A great feeling and a crazy story. Now we have to keep our foot on the gas, Can said in an interview with MagentaTV, according to Kicker.
Now Cani is even expected in the starting line-up. Nagelsmann’s clear first choice for the six position, i.e. defensive midfield, is Robert Andrich. However, the scrappy player deservedly received a yellow card in the Scotland game.
Does Nagelsmann dare to risk Andrich getting suspended or will he already rely on Can in the match against Hungary?
European Football Championships in Germany 14.6.–14.7. All matches live on channels. Go to the competition website from this link.
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