Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger were once again influential in Germany’s 2-0 win over Hungary in their second group game in Euro 2024.
Germany started off a little shakily, with Hungary putting a lot of pressure on the hosts. Germany had to be bailed out a couple of times by Antonio Rudiger and Jonathan Tah, but after the nerves calmed down a little bit, it was all Germany: Kroos took control of the game as it went on, finishing the first half with 70/72 passes completed — astonishing stuff that has been made to seem routine by the German.
Kroos started the second half just like he played the first, oozing with confidence under pressure, helping Germany score their second goal. He was good defensively too, recording a tackle, an interception as well as a clearance. He finished the game with 126 passes, with 95.2% accuracy — but, strangely, only attempted three long balls all game.
Rudiger had a pretty routine performance. He had a couple of decent interventions to start the game, but with Tah handling the majority of the defensive workload, Rudiger had little to do. He had a few great passes, though, finishing the game with the second most passes on the pitch — 91 with 94% accuracy. He completed four out of his seven long balls, and also had five clearances and a block.
Germany will face Switzerland to close out their group games on Sunday.