Germany captain Ilkay Gündogan and Bundesliga champions Florian Wirtz, Robert Andrich and Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen trained with the German squad for the first time after arriving at the training camp in the eastern German state of Thuringia.
The four players arrived on Wednesday, a bit later than the rest of the squad. The Leverkusen trio won the German Cup title on Saturday, while Gündogan played the last La Liga match of the season with Barcelona on Sunday.
Tah said that arriving at the training camp on a winning flow gives "a good feeling" and that one "definitely arrives with a lot of self-confidence and the desire to continue to be successful."
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer also joined the training session after recovering from a stomach bug. Neuer even signed a baby's onesie during an autograph session.
He is set to return between the posts for Germany for the first time since the 2022 World Cup in the friendly game against Ukraine on Monday.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann had 24 players for the training session on Thursday, in which warm-up exercises were carried out in two groups under the pouring rain.
Preparation for collective stress situations
As Germany get ready for the Euro 2024 on home soil, the national team players had a training for collective stress situations with a special police task force.
"A special police task force has to function perfectly. It has to have solutions in all situations, support each other and be at the forefront of communication. I think there are a lot of elements that these men and women can teach us," team psychologist Hans-Dieter Hermann said.
Veteran Thomas Müller said that he thinks the training was a very good idea.
"For me, it's not about any motivational or mental factor, for which you go to singing bowl therapy and then everyone feels good. It's about looking at behaviours that work and perhaps learning a thing or two on a factual level," he said.
Nagelsmann said that the training was a "very important" part of the programme ahead of the tournament.
"Protecting each other, being there for each other, always keeping a cool head even in borderline situations, finding solutions. That's something for the team," he said. Nagelsmann, however, didn't attend the event.
Nagelsmann still waits for five more players
Five players are yet to join the training camp. Borussia Dortmund duo Niclas Füllkrug and Nico Schlotterbeck and Real Madrid players Toni Kroos and Antonio Rüdiger of Real Madrid will play the Champions League final on Saturday in London, while Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is due to arrive on Monday.
The team leaves Blankenhain for their Euro base camp in Herzogenaurach on Friday, ahead of the Ukraine match. The final test is on June 7 against Greece.
Germany will start the Euro 2024 against Scotland on June 14. They also face Hungary and Switzerland in the group stage as they hope to be in the final in Berlin on July 14.
The DFB confirmed to dpa on Thursday that each player is set to receive a bonus of €400,000 ($433,150) if Germany win the title.
