Coach Julian Nagelsmann is happy to have former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos back in the German squad for the 2024 European Championship that the country hosts, but revealed it is not an easy endeavor.

Toni Kroos returns to help Germany succeed in the Euro 2024 tournament at home.

“It took a while to convince him because he wаnted to know what we would change in the future for the national team,” Nagelsmann said ahead of Germany’s opening match against Scotland in Munich on Friday. Six. “He told me, in one of the first phone calls, that he would only be part of the team when there was a feeling that we could win something, together with the team.”

Nagelsmann then highlighted his plans for Kroos, who retires from international football in 2021, and said he still has many questions to answer from the six-time Champions League winner with Madrid. “You want to know what the next step is? What are the next decisions? How are we going to change the team?… And I answered it for him, and then he said, ‘Yes, I’m in’ and ‘Let’s rock it!’”

Now Kroos, who confirmed his return to the German national team in February, will try to help the hosts beаt a dangerous Scotland side, which boasts many Premier League players and has beaten Spain in the last round. type. Coach Nagelsmann also cautiously said at Thursday’s press conference: “Scotland is not a team with many world stars, but that makes them dangerous, because they are very agile players, dedicated to the world.” giving it all, with a classic Scottish mentality.”

Nagelsmann added that although the German team felt pressure and tension ahead of the tournament’s opening match, it was necessary. The whole team is also completely healthy and prepared: “When I look into the eyes of my players, I see a lot of belief and confidence. That’s what I want. We have home advantage and we want to win. We can beаt the pressure and we can beаt Scotland too.”

Coach Julian Nagelsmann is cautious ahead of Germany’s opening match against Scotland in Munich on Friday.

Ԁie Mannschaft have won four World Cup titles and three European championships, but their reputation has been somewhat tarnished with a series of defeats since their 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil. They crashed out of the next two World Cups at the group stage, their worst performance in over 80 years, and were knocked out of the last European Championship in the round of 16. Nagelsmann, who takes over as Germany coach in October 2023, said: “We will be under more pressure than Scotland and they will want to take advantage of that. We have to really concentrate to avoid crosses.”

Meanwhile, Germany captain Ilkay Gundogan said Nagelsmann gives the players clarity and instills a sense of calm, which has helped the team: “The coach gives us confidence, a clear direction. He discussed the roles with us. Everyone knew what was expected of them and were able to give their all on the field, which helped us a lot after negаtive experiences in recent tournaments. No match is like the first, because then you can use the momentum and excitement for the next few matches, and that’s why the most important goal tomorrow is to win in the match”.

After the match against Scotland, Germany will face Hungary and Switzerland to qualify for the round of 16.