Overview
- Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann publicly backed Antonio Rüdiger’s inclusion for the Switzerland and Ghana friendlies and showed clear irritation when asked about it again on RTL.
- Nagelsmann praised Rüdiger’s commitment to the national team and said the defender knows what he must stop doing in future.
- Rüdiger told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung he has crossed lines at times and wants to bring stability, while insisting his hard style is part of his game and noting he has not seen a red card in nine years.
- Captain Joshua Kimmich defended Rüdiger, pointing to the center-back’s high-level play for Real Madrid and saying Germany often forgets his output over the past few years.
- Rüdiger is not first choice at center-back right now after criticism over an early‑March incident with Getafe’s Diego Rico, with Nagelsmann currently preferring Jonathan Tah and Nico Schlotterbeck.