Jude Bellingham had a stunning first season with Real Madrid (Picture: Getty Images)
Toni Kroos says his Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham will have no problem in dealing with the pressure of performing for England this summer at Euro 2024.
Kroos and Bellingham played together over the season just gone at Real Madrid, winning La Liga and the Champions League in a superb campaign for the Spanish giants.
The Englishman arrived in Madrid from Borussia Dortmund last summer and could not have imagined his first season going any better, scoring 23 goals in all competitions and swiftly establishing himself as a key player in Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
The German veteran was certainly impressed and cannot see the 20-year-old struggling with the pressure that will fall on his shoulders this summer with his national team after announcing himself as one of the best players on the planet.
‘I’ve had a year with Jude and had to ask how old he really is. He’s 20 but – and particularly off the field — he feels to be a fair bit more mature than that,’ said Kroos, who is retiring after Euro 2024.
‘It speaks for him that there is so much hope resting on him in England. At Real in the first few weeks he was directly decisive for us. And I didn’t feel he had any problems as his importance to the team grew.
Toni Kroos is hanging up his boots after this summer’s tournament (Picture: Getty Images)
‘It speaks for him that the hopes are placed on him. I think that he’s a guy who can handle this pressure. This personality at just 20 years of age — it’s no problem for him to withstand the pressure.’
Germany get the tournament underway on Friday night when they host Scotland in Munich, with England starting their campaign on Sunday against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
Kroos wishes Bellingham well this summer, although not that well.
‘I wish him personally a good tournament — but I hope that it’s over for England at some point,’ he said.
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