Real Madrid Midfielder Kroos Agrees to Play for Germany Ahead of Home Euro 2024 

Germany's midfielder Toni Kroos jogs during the UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 football match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in London on June 29, 2021. (AFP)
Germany's midfielder Toni Kroos jogs during the UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 football match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in London on June 29, 2021. (AFP)
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Real Madrid Midfielder Kroos Agrees to Play for Germany Ahead of Home Euro 2024 

Germany's midfielder Toni Kroos jogs during the UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 football match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in London on June 29, 2021. (AFP)
Germany's midfielder Toni Kroos jogs during the UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 football match between England and Germany at Wembley Stadium in London on June 29, 2021. (AFP)

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has agreed to play for Germany again after a request from coach Julian Nagelsmann ahead of the home European Championship.

Kroos doesn’t want to be seen as a “savior” for the struggling German team, though.

The 34-year-old Kroos has not played for Germany in almost three years. The most recent of his 106 international games came as the team lost in the round of 16 against England at the last European Championship.

“I will play for Germany again from March. Why? Because I was asked by the national team coach, I’m keen to do it and I am sure that much more is possible with the team at the Euros than most people believe!” Kroos wrote on Thursday on Instagram.

Kroos went into more detail on his podcast, saying Nagelsmann, who was hired in September, reached out last year.

There was a definite “appeal” to being asked to return for a home tournament, Kroos said, but he still needed “the last few months” to decide. “I’m really, really happy with this decision and I’m really looking forward to this tournament.”

Germany won just three of 11 friendlies last year, and Nagelsmann has one win in four since succeeding Hansi Flick.

“I obviously want to help, but I am definitely not the savior either. That’s clear, too,” Kroos said. “Everyone can say goodbye to that (idea) straight away. If I come back, I see myself just like a little cog that hopefully somehow meshes with another.

“Don’t think that with this trick that we’re going to become the favorites. That’s nonsense. Of course, I hope that I can in some way contribute a part in the direction of improvement. But of course, it’s also clear that something more is needed, too.”

Germany has friendlies against France on March 23 and the Netherlands three days later. The host nation has been drawn against Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland in the group stage at the European Championship, which starts on June 14.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.