Rudiger says Germany should learn to be as ruthless as Real Madrid

Antonio Rudiger said on Wednesday that Germany should learn to be as ruthless as Real Madrid at the forthcoming European Championship.

Germany take on Greece on Friday in their final warm-up match before they kick off Euro 2024 with their opening match against Scotland in Group A on 14th June.

“We are not here just to say hello but we still have to be humble. We don't have to talk about past tournaments, we all know what happened there. It's been up and down for us all the way here and that's why we have to be humble. The first match (of Euro 2024 against Scotland) is very important and then we'll see what happens during the rest of the tournament,” said Rudiger.

The Germany and Real defender hailed Real's 'killer instinct' following their 2-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday which saw the Spanish side claim the Champions League title for a record-extending 15th time.

“These are two different pairs of shoes. 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 match against Ukraine was a super match. All around. I haven't seen a nil-nil draw 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,” said Rudiger.

This year's hosts were eliminated in the group stage of both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups and fell in the Round of 16 at Euro 2020.

After struggling in recent major tournaments, Rudiger said it was important that Germany remain humble going into Euro 2024.