Antonio Rudiger wants to use his experience with Real Madrid for the benefit of Germany at Euro 2024, seeking to find a "killer instinct" for Julian Nagelsmann's team.

Germany duo Toni Kroos and Rudiger helped Madrid to their record-extending 15th Champions League crown last Saturday, defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final.

That European glory added to this season's LaLiga success for Los Blancos, who continue to power on as a title-winning machine under the tutelage of veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti.

With Germany's Euro 2024 opener against Scotland less than two weeks away, Rudiger hopes to embed his club's efforts into Nagelsmann's national side.

"These are two different pairs of shoes," Rudiger said on Wednesday, referring to the difference between Germany and Madrid.

"Here we have a very good system that fits our game but what we can take with us from Madrid is that killer instinct.

"Our last game against Ukraine was super good. I have not seen a 0-0 from us in quite some time that was so good but the thing that was missing was the goals and that is what we can learn from Madrid."

Germany were wasteful in that Ukraine draw on Monday, producing a similar performance as to those in their back-to-back group-stage exits at the World Cup in 2018 and four years later.

They face Greece on Friday in their final warm-up match before the European Championship, where they meet Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland in Group A.

"The anticipation in our own country is huge," Rudiger added. "On Friday we have an important last test. It is important for our confidence. It is important to excite our fans in this final test.

"We have to be humble. We all know what happened in the past tournaments. The road to get here had ups and downs.

"What is important is to play a very good first game and then see what happens in the rest of the tournament."

As for Rudiger's own role within Germany's national setup, Nagelsmann wants the centre-back to guide his side through the tournament.

"Julian said that I should be a leader in my role," Rudiger concluded.

Florian Wirtz says now is not the time to discuss his Bayer Leverkusen future, as he prepares to lead Germany's bid for Euro 2024 glory on home soil.

Wirtz has emerged as one of the most highly rated attacking midfielders in world football, starring for Xabi Alonso's team as they went unbeaten to become Bundesliga champions in 2023-24.

He was named Bundesliga Player of the Year after scoring 11 goals and adding 11 assists, also helping Die Werkself win the DFB-Pokal to make it a double.

The likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United have all been linked with a move for Wirtz, while German media reports claim he is Bayern's top long-term target.

Wirtz is under contract at the BayArena until 2027, though, and he will not contemplate his club future while Julian Nagelsmann's side prepare for next week's Euros opener against Scotland.

"Everyone knows my contract," Wirtz told Sky Sports in Germany. "It's not the moment to talk about it now. 

"I'm definitely having a very good time at Leverkusen, I feel good. In my head it's now 100 per cent about the European Championship. I don't care about anything else right now."

Wirtz has won 17 senior caps for his country, scoring his first international goal in an impressive friendly win over France in March.

Euro 2024 will be the fourth major international tournament to be hosted solely by Germany (or West Germany prior to unification).

They reached at least the semi-finals at the previous three, beating Johan Cruyff's iconic Netherlands side in the 1974 World Cup final and going out in the last four at Euro 1988 and the 2006 World Cup.

However, they have not won a single knockout game at a major tournament since Euro 2016. They suffered back-to-back group-stage exits at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and were beaten by England in the last 16 at Euro 2020.

Julian Nagelsmann challenged Germany to demonstrate "more aggression" following their goalless draw with Ukraine in Nuremberg.

The Euro 2024 hosts were held in their penultimate warm-up match before the tournament, which begins on June 14, despite registering 27 shots on goal at Max-Morlock-Stadion.

Nagelsmann knows Germany must improve ahead of facing Scotland in the opening match of the European Championship, but observed the positives of their performances. 

"Obviously, we would have preferred a 2-0 or 3-0 win, but we played very well for long stretches of the game," he told Germany's official website. "To me, we looked like a team who really wanted to win.

"We were very good in the first 20 minutes, and we should have taken the lead. We also had six or seven chances just after the break. We need to show more aggression from crosses and put more pressure on the opposition defence."

"It's difficult to score goals against opponents who sit so deep," Joshua Kimmich added. "It's a shame we weren't able to get the goal.

"You could tell we were going for the win. We have to continue in the same vein and then, hopefully, get a win in our final friendly [against Greece on Friday]."

The introduction of debutant Maximilian Beier in the 59th minute breathed new life into the hosts, with the Hoffenheim striker rattling the crossbar within moments of his introduction and also drawing a smart save from Ukraine goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin soon after.

Nagelsmann, who named seven strikers in his provisional 27-man party, must cut one player before submitting his final squad later this week, but the Germany boss said the 21-year-old did his chances of remaining no harm.

"Maxi got stuck in well and played a good game," the head coach added "He handled everything well and worked hard defensively. He had three good chances.

"As it stands now, no one deserves to go home. He has made it more likely [that he will remain]."

Nagelsmann is set to lead Germany into his first major international tournament.

The 36-year-old has sought advice from former bosses including Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann and Joachim Low, and revealed there was a recurring theme in their words of wisdom.

"There is no blueprint," he said. "The answers were very similar; you have to listen to your gut feeling. You have to react to the here and now,"

Germany's penultimate friendly before Euro 2024 ended in a frustrating 0-0 draw against Ukraine on Monday.

Ilkay Gundogan missed a key chance in the first half, tamely firing at Anatoliy Trubin as he failed to break the deadlock.

Maximilian Beier proved a threat off the bench for the hosts, striking the bar and forcing a good stop out of the goalkeeper.

Germany were indebted to Manuel Neuer too, as he made big saves to keep out Roman Yaremchuk and Andriy Yarmolenko to ensure Ukraine's wait for a win over Die Mannschaft went on. 

Data Debrief: Die Mannschaft misfire

Germany created an expected goals tally (xG) of 2.4 against Ukraine, having 27 shots at Trubin's goal, though only five were on target. 

They dominated in all areas of the game but lacked a clinical edge to get a win in front of the home fans. 

Julian Nagelsmann has condemned a "racist" survey from German public broadcaster ARD, which asked respondents whether there should be more white players in the national team.

State broadcaster ARD asked 1,304 participants whether they would like to see more white players representing Germany at Euro 2024, with 21 per cent of respondents answering yes.

Germany and Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich described the poll as "absolute nonsense" on Saturday, saying the diversity of the national team was a major positive. 

Coach Nagelsmann echoed those sentiments during a media briefing at the team's Herzogenaurach training base on Sunday, saying: "It is racist. I feel we need to wake up. 

"Many people now in Europe had to flee, searching for a safe country.

"Josh responded really well, with a very clear and thought-out statement. I see this in exactly the same way. This question is insane.

"There are people in Europe who have had to flee because of war, economic factors, environmental disasters, people who simply want to be taken in.

"We have to ask: What are we doing at the moment? 

"We in Germany are doing very, very well, and when we say something like that, I think it's crazy how we turn a blind eye and simply block out such things."

Robert Andrich and Jonathan Tah highlighted their "greed and hunger for another title", as the Bayer Leverkusen duo target Euro 2024 glory with Germany.

Tah and Andrich enjoyed a memorable 2023-24 season with Leverkusen, winning the club's first ever Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal, with their only defeat across all competitions coming against Atalanta in the Europa League final.

Xabi Alonso's side completed the double with victory over Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium last time out. 

Andrich is desperately hoping for a swift return to the same venue, where the Euro 2024 showpiece will be played on June 14, and for further silverware to follow.

"We have this greed, the hunger for another title," the midfielder said. "I think that [German Cup final] was very special for me - the Olympic stadium, training there, playing the final. These are special moments, more special than in other matches.

"You cannot buy these memories and this gives you a boost to play there again."

Team-mate Tah concurred: "I would say the double win definitely puts wind in your sails. With a lot of greed, we want to keep being successful and play the entire year successfully.

"After a few days, our batteries will again be fully loaded. We are looking forward to the tournament, which is special for all of us, so the batteries kind of charge themselves because of that."

Germany launch the tournament against Scotland on June 14, while Julian Nagelsmann's side will also face Hungary and Switzerland in Group A.

Germany will head into hosting Euro 2024 with an "unbelievable optimism" of lifting the UEFA trophy on home soil.

That was the message from Germany sporting director Rudi Voller, who backed Julian Nagelsmann's team to succeed on their own turf when the tournament starts on June 14.

The three-time European champions have crashed out of the World Cup in the group stages at the last two competitions, as well as a last-16 exit to England at the delayed Euro 2020.

Yet Voller believes Germany have a chance to do something special under Nagelsmann, after watching two impressive friendly victories over France and Netherlands back in March.

"A key moment in our development was the last two [friendly] matches in March," Voller told a news conference on Monday, as Germany started their short training camp in Thuringia.

"We realised that after three and half months [under Nagelsmann] we had two convincing wins and in the inner circle there was more optimism.

"Unbelievable optimism. We don't need to go crazy that now everything works but we should have a measure of optimism."

Germany open the tournament against Scotland before facing Hungary and Switzerland in Group A.

Nagelsmann's team will warm up for the European Championship with friendly preparations against Ukraine next Monday and Greece four days later.

With preparations hotting up before the Euros heads to Germany, Voller insists the hosts can go deep into the tournament.

"Through those two international matches we want to be part of the group that are there until the end," he added.

"We have a home tournament. We should have the optimism to go very far and if it is Berlin [for the final] in the end, even better."

Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann backed Vincent Kompany to succeed at his former club Bayern Munich as expectations grow for the Belgian to take charge in Bavaria.

The former Manchester City captain, who began his coaching career in Belgium with Anderlecht, oversaw Burnley's relegation from the Premier League in the 2023-24 season.

Yet Kompany is expected to soon be announced as the new head coach of Bayern.

The Bundesliga giants parted ways with Thomas Tuchel after a rare season without silverware but Nagelsmann, speaking on Sky Germany, expects Kompany to deliver for the Bavarian side if appointed.

"I've heard that he's a very good coach with outstanding prospects, and he has had many good coaches who trained him, so he'll do well," said Nagelsmann, whose two-year spell with Bayern ended in 2023.

"In the end, it's good for the club that they didn't win the championship this time. I don't think it's a bad situation for a young coach who can leave his mark.

"Who, I think, can change more than if they had won the championship again or been extremely successful."

Bayern lost their last game of the Bundesliga season to finish third, having failed to win any of the four trophies they were in for, as their German top-flight dominance ended to Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen.

Alonso, who oversaw Leverkusen's unbeaten league season, had been Bayern's primary target but their former midfielder has elected to stay at Leverkusen next season.

Kompany would come as a surprise choice but Bayern will hope he can rediscover his magic touch from when guiding the Clarets to promotion, earning 101 points in the process in his first 2022-23 season.

However, Burnley managed just five wins this term on their way to taking 24 points this season as they finished 19th, going back down alongside Luton Town and Sheffield United.

The former Belgium international, if appointed, will leave Burnley having managed 96 games, winning 41 (42.7 per cent) of those matches.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos will retire from football after representing Germany at Euro 2024.

The 34-year-old was thought likely to sign a new contract with Los Blancos, but he announced on Tuesday that he will hang up his boots after representing his country on home soil at the Euros. 

Kroos has enjoyed a distinguished 10-year spell with Madrid, who he joined from Bayern Munich in 2014, winning LaLiga and the Champions League four times apiece with the Spanish giants.

He played a crucial role as Carlo Ancelotti's men regained their domestic title in 2023-24, but next week's Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund will be the final game of his club career before his Euros swansong. 

He initially quit international football after the delayed Euro 2020 three years ago, only to agree to return to the fold under Julian Nagelsmann earlier this year.

In an open letter to Madrid's fans, Kroos wrote: "As I have always said, Real Madrid is and will be my last club.

"After 10 years, at the end of the season this chapter comes to an end. I will never forget this successful time! I would like to thank everyone that welcomed me with an open heart and trusted me. 

"But especially I would like to thank you, dear Madridistas, for your affection and your love from the first day until the last one. 

"At the same time this decision means that my career as an active footballer will end this summer after the Euro championship."

Kroos also issued a rallying cry as Madrid target a record-extending 15th European crown, adding: "I am happy and proud that in my mind I found the right timing for my decision and that I could choose it myself. 

"My ambition was always to finish my career at the peak of my performance levels. From now on there is only one leading thought, la 15! Hala Madrid!"

Mats Hummels was hurt by Julian Nagelsmann's decision to leave him out of his preliminary Germany squad for Euro 2024, Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic has revealed.

The 35-year-old centre-back has joined BVB teammates Julian Brandt, Emre Can and Karim Adeyemi in being omitted from Germany's party for their home tournament.

Terzic believes Hummels – who helped his country win the 2014 World Cup – will now put all his energy into Dortmund's Champions League final clash with Real Madrid on June 1.

"I felt that the decision affected Mats and after the discussion [with Nagelsmann], he was very disappointed," Terzic said ahead of Dortmund's clash with Darmstadt 98 on Saturday.

"He assured me we will now go for the one goal left, the Champions League.

"He absolutely deserved to be at the Euros. But it is not our decision."

Nico Schlotterbeck and Niclas Fullkrug were the only Dortmund players to make Nagelsmann's squad, with the tournament set to begin on June 14.

"We tried in the past months to help the players reach their personal goals as well as the team goals," Terzic added. 

"It worked for Nico and Niclas but unfortunately not for Mats.

"He will deal with this situation very professionally and tomorrow and in the Champions League final he will be one of our most important players."

Julian Nagelsmann has named a 27-man provisional squad for hosts Germany ahead of Euro 2024.

The biggest surprise in the squad was the inclusion of a fourth goalkeeper, as Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel received his first senior call-up.

Mats Hummels is one of the big names left out despite helping Borussia Dortmund on their way to the Champions League final, while Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka is also absent once more. 

Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Karim Adeyemi miss out on a place in the tournament, while Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner are both out through injury.

After winning just one of his first four games in charge, Nagelsmann changed things in March and was rewarded with back-to-back victories.

Nico Schlotterbeck won 71 per cent of his tackles in the Bundesliga - the highest figure in Europe's big-five leagues this season (at least 70 tackles), and is back in the national squad for the first time since September.

Aleksandar Pavlovic missed the March friendlies due to injury but is a welcome recall - Bayern have an 83.3 per cent win ratio with Pavlovic in their team in the Bundesliga this season, but that drops to 53.3 per cent when he is not in the side.

Schlotterbeck, Niclas Fullkrug, Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger will all link up with the squad late due to their involvement in the Champions League final.

The final 26-man squad must be submitted on June 7, meaning at least one player will be dropped before the start of the tournament.

As the tournament hosts, Germany begin their Euro 2024 campaign in the opening game against Scotland on June 14.

Germany squad

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhruch (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fullkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Denis Undav (Stuttgart)

Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho issued a reminder of his star quality as Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday.

Niclas Fullkrug scored the winner after 36 minutes, taking in Nico Schlotterbeck's floated pass before driving a low shot beyond PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Fullkrug has now been involved in six Champions League goals this season (three goals, three assists), the joint-most by a German player in their debut campaign in the competition, alongside BVB team-mate Marco Reus in 2012-13 (four goals, two assists).

The star of the show, however, was undoubtedly Sancho.

He tormented Nuno Mendes throughout a lively performance, creating three chances for his team-mates – a game-high tally alongside Julian Brandt, Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi.

Sancho had completed seven dribbles by the halfway point, more than he managed in any full game for the Red Devils.

By full-time, that number had crept up to 12, the most by any player in a Champions League semi-final since Lionel Messi completed 16 for Barcelona against United in April 2008, and the most on record by an Englishman at any stage of the competition (since 2003-04).

Sancho even outshone Mbappe, who struck the far post with a curling effort early in the second half but was limited to just three shots totalling 0.17 expected goals (xG). 

PSG did have their chances, though, with their total of 14 shots their most without scoring in any Champions League game since the second leg of their 2020-21 semi-final against Manchester City (also 14), when they were beaten 2-0 and eliminated from the competition. 

Dortmund are now unbeaten in 11 straight Champions League home games, winning seven and drawing four. 

It's their longest ever such streak at Signal Iduna Park, and they have also won four straight knockout games on their own turf for the first time in their Champions League history.

While Dortmund have a valuable lead to protect in Paris next Tuesday, Edin Terzic will be expecting a strong reaction from PSG.

The Ligue 1 champions have progressed from two of their last four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those successes coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20 (1-2 away, 2-0 at home).  

Niclas Fullkrug fired home a first-half winner as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in Germany.

Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Fullkrug's path and the Germany international brought the ball under his spell with a wonderful touch before drilling a low shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute.

PSG, on the back foot for much of the first half, improved after the break and struck the woodwork twice in a matter of moments just after the restart.

Kylian Mbappe curled an effort against the right-hand post before Achraf Hakimi scuffed a shot against the other upright on the rebound as Edin Terzic's side escaped with a first-leg lead.

The teams will meet again at the Parc des Princes next Tuesday, with the winners of the tie facing either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid – who drew 2-2 in their first leg on Tuesday – in the final at Wembley Stadium.

German players are unlikely to make any major political statements at Euro 2024 after their World Cup protest in Qatar was met with a tepid domestic reception, ex-international Thomas Hitzlsperger has predicted.

Seven European nations at the 2022 global showpiece – including England – initially planned to wear ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armbands but were dissuaded following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.

Instead, the Germans covered their mouths for a World Cup team photograph in protest, while the tournament remained overshadowed by the host nation’s record on human rights, from its treatment of migrant workers to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

Hitzlsperger, who bookended his playing career with spells at Aston Villa and Everton and a decade ago became the first former Premier League player to come out as gay, said: “It ended for the German team not in a good way. Funnily enough, back home a lot of people criticised it whereas abroad it was seen as a big statement.

“After the tournament, some of the representatives of the German national team just said, ‘look, at the Euros we talk about football, nothing else’. So I don’t expect much from the team similar to the World Cup.

“I think the England team were the first ones to play, and they decided against the One Love armband. A lot of the German players, they felt a responsibility, they felt ‘we’ve got to make a statement’.

“They couldn’t rely on the other teams. I think there were seven teams in the end that tried to stick together and wear the armband, and then they all collapsed, basically. And that’s when the Germans were like, ‘We still have to do something’.”

The former midfielder, who is now serving as an ambassador for this summer’s tournament in his home country, agrees that Germany’s poor showing likely influenced negative sentiment around the protest.

He said: “Football can be brutal. If you win, you set the tone and whatever you do it’s accepted and people look up to you. If you don’t win, you lose football matches, then you better not say anything.”

Even before the tournament, said the 42-year-old, the German public was already divided over whether or not the national team – or anyone – had a responsibility to act.

“It was a very difficult debate and it never came to a conclusion,” said Hitzlsperger.

“Some said it’s too much politics, others said it was right what we did, and that’s where we ended. That was our opportunity to say ‘we’re hosting a European Championship, let’s have a really good time together’, talk about responsibility when it comes to sustainability but don’t teach the world what to do.”

Organisers hope the tournament itself will instead do the talking, with ambitions to become be the most sustainable European Championship of all time through the use of entirely pre-existing stadia run by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, a zoned match schedule reducing travel distances for teams and fans, and the creation of a climate fund dedicated to projects focused on mitigating tournament-related unavoidable emissions.

It is also the second major football tournament, following in the footsteps of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, to sign a human rights declaration.

UEFA has stated EURO 2024 “embraces gender identities and expressions as a spectrum that is not limited to a binary concept”, with gender-neutral toilets available at all venues and similarly neutral lanes outside the stadia to accommodate a range of gender expressions for procedures like body checks.

Ultimately, says Hitzlsperger, “the German FA, UEFA, the German government and the foreign ministry, (will do) everything we can do, without putting the team under too much pressure to say ‘every game you have to make a statement’.

“You have to know who is responsible for what, and unfortunately what happened in Qatar really made the players aware of the consequences if you take a stance on human rights.”

Stuart Attwell will be one of the VARs at this summer’s European Championship in Germany, with Anthony Taylor among the on-field referees.

The news comes two days on from the pair being on duty for Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, after which the officiating was attacked in a social media post from the visitors that referenced Attwell being “a Luton fan”.

The post said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”

On Monday, Forest said they had submitted a formal request to PGMOL for audio of discussions between Attwell and Taylor in relation to the three incidents to be made public.

They also called on PGMOL to change its rules on officials’ allegiances “to account for contextual rivalries in the league table’, not just local rivalries”.

Three Forest members of staff – boss Nuno Espirito Santo, referee analyst Mark Clattenburg and full-back Neco Williams – have been asked by the Football Association for their observations following comments they made after the match at Goodison Park, while the Premier League is examining the club’s social media post.

As well as Taylor, with assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, Michael Oliver will be the other English on-field referee at the Euros, assisted by Stuart Burt and Dan Cook, UEFA said on Tuesday. The other English VAR alongside Attwell will be David Coote.