EURO2024
Kroos makes an exception for Gündogan: Thoughts in milliseconds
Ilkay Gündogan (l) and Toni Kroos celebrate after the final whistle. Photo
© Christian Charisius/dpa
Toni Kroos and Ilkay Gündogan next to each other in midfield. That rarely worked. Now the strategists are playing staggered in the center and it’s working. After the great start to the European Championship, they are praising each other.
With the wonderful feeling of success from the 2-0 win against Hungary and the certainty of an early entry into the European Championship round of 16, Kroos was convinced in the interview zone in Stuttgart that a few kind words about the captain of the national football team would be appropriate given his outstanding performance.
“I’m obviously happy for Illy because his career in the national team has not been as successful as his club career,” said Kroos. “I hope that he will step out of the perceived shadow during the tournament. We have no doubts about the kind of player he is,” noted the 34-year-old.
“Let’s take Illy today”
The FC Barcelona midfielder has been through difficult phases in the national team in recent years. So the question about the best player of the evening? “Let’s take Illy,” said Kroos.
This somewhat cryptic eulogy is almost like a tribute to Kroos. In fact, Gündogan played in the victory against Hungary in such a way that one would wish he had acted in exactly the same way in his 78 international matches up to that point.
It is a credit to national coach Julian Nagelmann that Gündogan and Kroos’ relationship on the pitch has been smoothed out. The German number 21 also highlighted this. “Now that we are playing a little offset from each other, we can complement each other even better,” said Gündogan. “The good thing is, especially with Toni now, that when we look at each other on the pitch, even for a millisecond, we know what the other is thinking and what they are planning in the next situation. A connection like that is incredibly important on the pitch.”