When you think of Rudiger, what image comes to mind? He can be a "fighter" who is desperate to solve the siege, or a "funny man" who chases back with high legs, but in this Germany's 2-0 clean sheet against Denmark, Rudiger, who returned to the fire line, played the role of the anchor, and the award of the best player after the game was the best award for him who played with an injury. From this point of view, the German team is absolutely indispensable to this "iron warrior" who combines comedy and strength.
Similar to Italy, Germany also suffered a suspension from the core of the defense in the first round of the knockout round, but Nagelsmann faced a greater challenge, because in addition to Jonatan Tower's confirmed suspension, another absolute mainstay, Rudiger, also suffered a thigh muscle strain, knowing that he himself has not participated in team training in the past few days, and it is doubtful that he will be able to play as scheduled.
Although he was not in the public eye, Rudiger was not idle, and after working closely with the medical team for treatment, he was finally approved to play before the game, and he played as a regular for the fourth consecutive game of the tournament. Maybe even he didn't expect that this appearance would make him the focus of the world's attention. On the one hand, everyone was amazed by his willpower and desire to fight; On the other hand, there is also the expectation that the team can go further with his help, after all, Germany is the host and has more attention and expectations.
Rudiger didn't disappoint, judging by his performance for the full 90 minutes, his muscle injury didn't seem to have had much of an impact on him, although there was some concern about his body in the post-game footage. He was photographed walking somewhat staggering away from the pitch and the intensity of the game still took a toll on his injured body, but the optimistic Rudiger said everything was fine and that he would be involved in the next game if the coach needed to play himself.
And in terms of emotional value, he also gave his teammates enough confidence. Especially after a block before the end of the game, he celebrated like a goal and made a big impression, and he himself spoke about the scene after the game, saying: "Everyone who knows football knows that I'm an emotional person on the pitch – near the end of the game I made a good block and I think I blocked a goal. So I celebrated for a long time. This kind of game, if you lose, you're out. But for the sake of our fans, we desperately want to qualify. We all fight for each other and give it our all as a team. ”
10 years ago, Rudiger completed the national team debut, although the previous highest honor with the German team was only the 2017 Confederations Cup championship, but this does not mean that Rudiger has no ideas and pursuits, this time at home, the reason why he fought so hard, is very simple, is to hope to keep the Delaunay Cup in Germany, 31 years old is absolutely golden for the central defender, he hopes to unreservedly dedicate himself to the German team, and strive to launch the final impact on the championship.
Text/Beiqing Sports Zhang Kunlong