Ahead of Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany, Toni Kroos announced on Thursday that he is back in the national team.
The 34-year-old midfielder, who plays for Real Madrid, will be available for the March friendlies against France and the Netherlands.
“I’m going to play for Germany again from March,” Kroos wrote on Instagram.
“The reason? The coach asked me and I said yes.
“I believe that we can achieve more than what most people expect at the European Championship.”
Kroos, who has 106 appearances for Germany, retired from international football after losing to England in the last 16 of Euro 2020.
Germany have been in poor form in the last few years, failing to advance from the group stage in the previous two World Cups.
They have only won three of their 11 games since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which resulted in Hansi Flick being the first Germany coach to be fired.
His successor Julian Nagelsmann, who has a deal until the end of Euro 2024, has only won one of his four games in charge, losing to Turkey and Austria.
Kroos has been a regular for Real Madrid this season, playing in 30 of the 32 games in La Liga and the Champions League, despite the injury problems of the team.
“He’s always at the top level. His passing is as good as it was 10 years ago,” Real boss Carlo Ancelotti praised Kroos earlier this month.
Kroos admitted at the same press conference that he was “undecided” about returning to the national team, joking that he wished someone else would make the decision for him.
Nagelsmann had previously said that a Kroos return was “an interesting thought”.
Germany will face France in a friendly in Lyon on March 23, before hosting the Netherlands in Frankfurt on March 27.
Kroos could join a young and talented Germany midfield, with Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz both only 20 years old.
Germany will kick off the tournament against Scotland in Munich on June 14, and then play Hungary in Stuttgart on June 19 and Switzerland in Frankfurt on June 23 in Group A.
