News about Antonio Rudiger

It is no secret that Los Blancos are gearing up for a raid of the Premier League's finest talent having been linked with multiple players in recent months. They have reportedly stepped up their interest in Trent Alexander-Arnold this month while Rodri's signature is seen as an aspirational goal.

Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger believes one Premier League duo make up the best centre-back partnership in the world. Rudiger, also considered to be among the top defenders in the world, joined Real Madrid from Chelsea on a free transfer two years ago and has already made over 100 appearances for the Spanish giants. And he was asked on the Inside Scoop podcast to name the centre-back he thinks are currently performing at the 'top, top level'.

Real Madrid are heavy odds-on favourites at 4/7 with Sky Bet to win their Champions League clash against Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy tonight. Los Blancos enjoyed a strong start to their European campaign a fortnight ago - defeating German club Stuttgart 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Conversely, Lille - who lost their Champions League opener 2-0 at the hands of Sporting Lisbon - are 17/4 outsiders to cause a major upset on home soil tonight.

Plans are apparently already in place to dedicate Madrid's Nike store on the Gran Via in his honour with a golden theme and his image on display. Lionel Messi leads the way with eight Ballon d'Ors over the years while Cristiano Ronaldo has five but neither of them has made the shortlist for the first time since 2003. This year's list of nominees includes Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Antonio Rudiger, and Federico Valverde from the current crop of Madrid stars, while the recently retired Toni Kroos is also on there.

Real Madrid forward Endrick has revealed why he ignored Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr before scoring his first Champions League goal.  The Spanish giants opened their defence of the Champions League with a 3-1 win over Stuttgart at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.  Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring seconds into the second half, with Deniz Undav scoring to level the match before Antonio Rudiger put the hosts ahead again. 

Kylian Mbappe renewed his quest to win a European title by scoring for Real Madrid in his first Champions League match with the club. Mbappe found the open net after a cross by Rodrygo just seconds into the second half of Madrid's 3-1 win over Stuttgart at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. 'It was a great night,' Mbappe said. 'It was a tough match, as they always are in the Champions League, but it was important to start with the win at home.'

Real Madrid and Brazil forward Rodrygo continued to produce the goods on the field as he scored the only goal for his country in a 1-0 win over Ecuador, though speculation still surrounds his future at the Bernabeu.  The 23-year-old's powerful strike came at the end of a week in which he was controversially omitted from the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist, having helped Los Blancos secure a LaLiga and Champions League double last term.  Team-mates Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Toni Kroos, who has since retired, Antonio Rudiger and Dani Carvajal were nominated but there was no place for the forward, who admitted that he was 'upset' to miss out.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti (inset) has claimed there has been no falling out between Antonio Rudiger and Endrick after footage emerged showing the pair locked in a training pitch drill. 18-year-old Endrick has been given a hard-hitting welcome at his new team as he was treated to physical battles with Rudiger during Madrid's tour of the United States. Any notion that Endrick would be eased into training with his new team-mates was quickly rubbished as he went up against the German centre-back in a team drill that saw attackers try to score.

Kylian Mbappe is reportedly set to join his new Real Madrid team-mates in receiving a state-of-the-art BMW ahead of the new season. The French superstar was unveiled as the club's newest Galatico earlier this month following years of speculation linking him with a move to the Spanish capital. Playing for the world's biggest club comes with a host of perks. Not only with Mbappe see his already incredibly high profile rise in the form of new brand deals but he'll also be competing for the biggest prizes on offer in the sport.

Antonio Rudiger will miss the semi-final of Euro 2024 - should Germany advance to the next round of the tournament with a victory against - Spain after he was booked for a challenge on La Roja striker Dani Olmo during their quarter-final clash.  Rudiger had already conceded a yellow card during Germany's group-stage clash against Hungary last month. Ahead of the tournament, UEFA had amended its rules on yellow card suspensions, stating that if a player receives two yellow cards, they will be suspended for one match. But yellow cards are wiped after the quarter-finals end, meaning that the 31-year-old's booking against Hungary, still counts. 

The round of 16 brought us all the glorious ornaments of elite tournament football - the magnificence of Jude Bellingham 's goal, the hope of Georgia being crushed to despair, the shock of champions Italy being sent packing, and the attacking masterclass of the Netherlands. Mail Sport's brainbox friends at Sofascore have run the numbers on their algorithm and plucked out the objective 11 best players from the round.

OLIVER HOLT AT WESTFALENSTADION: On a wild and turbulent night in the football heartlands of the Ruhr, Germany played with the fire and embraced the chaos. They flirted with defeat at the hands of a fine Denmark team but they walked through the storm and came out the other side. This was a magnificent, nerve-jangling, brutal, roller-coaster of a night of football that could have swung either way and when it was over, Germany had their first knock-out win at a major tournament since 2016.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Germany take on Denmark at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund.

IAN HERBERT: The squad and the system are still relatively untested. Only seven months ago, this nation was losing to Turkey and Austria. That's why the draw against Switzerland has been a source of angst. The excellent Murat Yakin and Manuel Akanji, for the Swiss, managed to disrupt Germany's game without opting for a complete retreat. Central defender Jonathan Tah and striker Kai Havertz struggled and the team seemed to drift. Many observed how the stands became shrouded in silence for the last quarter of the first half in Frankfurt, as anxiety quickly set in. It's not gone without notice here, incidentally, that the fans of many countries are making more noise than the Germans. One report this week featured a small fan group called AG Stimmung ('Atmosphere') operating at Germany games, which has set itself the goal of improving support for the national team. 'How German!' the German correspondent reporting this observed. The hope is that last Sunday in Frankfurt was a blip, though all week the nation has been hanging on medical bulletins about Antonio Rudiger, who strained a hamstring that night. With Tah suspended after picking up his second yellow card, Dortmund's talented, though unpredictable, Nico Schlotterbeck is likely to start. National optimism has not been hugely enhanced by old defensive stalwart Bertie Vogts, manager of the team beaten by the Danes in '92, reminding everyone how tough the current Denmark side will be.

A host of football's fastest players have descended on Germany for Euro 2024 this month - and the best sprinter among them has now been revealed. Surprisingly, both Kylian Mbappe and Kyle Walker have missed out on the top 10 despite the duo putting on the afterburners to devastating effect last season. Instead, a centre back has taken the top spot, forcing several blistering forwards to settle for places further down the rankings. Other shock names are also above them. The fastest speed racked up by a player competing at the tournament this summer came in at an impressive 37.38km/h, also the Premier League's fastest sprint.

One Germany player, tipped early on to be one of the hosts' stars of the European Championship this summer, delivered an ominous performance on Friday night in the 5-1 thrashing of Scotland.  Germany needed only 10 minutes to take the lead after Florian Wirtz's opener, before going in 3-0 and a man up at the break thanks to Jamal Musiala's emphatic strike and Kai Havertz's penalty.   The hosts added another after the interval through Borussia Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug, before an own goal from Antonio Rudiger and an Emre Can strike saw the game finish 5-1 to Julian Nagelsmann's side. 

STEVE CLARKE begged the Tartan Army to keep the faith after five-star Germany inflicted a night of Euro embarrassment on Scotland. Trailing to goals from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala after 20 minutes, the opening game of Euro 2024 went from bad to worse when defender Ryan Porteous was red-carded for a wild challenge on Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz converted the spot-kick. Forced to play the entire second half with ten men, Niclas Fullkrug added a fourth and even a late own goal from Antonio Rudiger failed to offer any consolation to the outclassed Scots as Emre Can made it 5-1.

All day they came. Off planes, cars, camper vans, buses, trains and cycles. Some even made the journey on foot. An army mobilised from every corner of Scotland and beyond. The most joyous procession of humanity you've ever seen. Their trolley bags clattered along Munich's pavements before being hastily deposited in hotel rooms, many of which resembled rabbit hutches. A minute spent away from this party was a minute wasted.

Manchester United's Scott McTominay and Liverpool's Andy Robertson both start for Scotland in their Euro 2024 opening match against home nation Germany in Munich. The Reds defender had previously played down injury fears after coming off early during a training session earlier this week, but takes up the armband on Friday evening.  Germany are fielding a fearsome-looking side with few surprises for their opener, featuring Real Madrid's Champions League winners Antonio Rudiger and Toni Kroos, Arsenal's Kai Havertz, and former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan.  

IAN HERBERT IN MUNICH: The pages of Der Spiegel have this week reflected a German nation desperately needing the kind of football fervour it discovered in 2006, when the World Cup arrived here for four blissful, sun-kissed weeks still remembered as the Sommermärchen, 'the summer fairytale'. The paper related, with full Germanic precision, what is - and isn't - acceptable workplace practice during the four-week 'state of emergency' which begins with the hosts' opening fixture against Scotland in Munich this evening. Watching games in the workplace is a 'no', though listening to them on a radio is rendered acceptable by labour legislation passed in 1986. Decorate your car with flags by all means, 'so long as the driver's field of vision isn't restricted'. Only extend your 'fan festival' deep into the night if you have 'municipal permission'.

There was a time when the act of betting against Germany in a major tournament was deemed to be only marginally less advisable than plunging one's hand straight into a deep fat fryer. When the football-mad nation saw off Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final, they joined Italy as the only European team to have claimed the trophy four times. Yet, with three European Championships also to their name - a feat matched only by Spain - they have been, unarguably, this continent's preeminent footballing nation across the last 94 years.

Germany stars Antonio Rudiger and Niclas Fullkrug were reportedly involved in a 'heated altercation' in training just days before the hosts are due to get Euro 2024 underway. As reported by BILD, Rudiger had repeatedly pulled the striker down as defender closely marked him during a crossing training drill. Fullkrug reportedly stayed on the ground following one strong challenge and started swearing at Rudiger.

The anticipated impact of raucous home crowds has seen Germany rated among the contenders for the title, though, few consider them to be the standout team. That honour has been reserved for England or France, who each boast squads brimming with quality in host of areas. While the likes of Spain, Portugal and even the Netherlands are also seen as threats. But, according to data from analytics firm Twenty First Group. Die Mannschaft have the highest average 'Player Quality' of any side in the competition.

The German international produced a solid performance at the back as Real Madrid won the trophy for a 15th time, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Saturday's final at Wembley. In photos posted to his Instagram account on Monday, Rudiger posed with the Champions League trophy alongside his international team-mate Toni Kroos , and David Alaba - who missed the match through injury. While they were showing off the prestigious trophy, the expensive item on Rudiger's wrist will have also caught the eye for those viewing the picture on his social media.