Leverkusen double a boost for Germany going into Euro 24, say champions

BLANKENHAIN, Germany : Bayer Leverkusen's domestic league and Cup double this season is a major boost for Germany ahead of Euro 2024, said the club's Germany internationals Jonathan Tah and Robert Andrich.

Leverkusen became the first Bundesliga team to win the title without losing a league game all season and beat Kaiserslautern last week to lift the German Cup.

Their only defeat of the season was their Europa League final loss to Atalanta.

"I would say the double win definitely puts wind in your sails," defender Tah told a press conference. "With a lot of greed we want to keep being successful and play the entire year successfully."

The Germans are in a mini training camp in Thuringia until the end of the week, preparing for the tournament on home soil that starts on June 14 with their Group A opener against Scotland.

Central defender Tah is one of three Leverkusen players to have made the preliminary Germany squad, along with midfielders Florian Wirtz and Andrich.

"After a few days our batteries will again be fully loaded," Tah said. "We are looking forward to the tournament which is special for all of us so the batteries kind of charge themselves because of that."

The Germans are desperate to put in a strong performance, having failed to reach any major final since their 2014 World Cup victory, their fourth world crown.

They play Ukraine on June 3 and Greece on June 7 in warmup matches before facing the Scots.

The final, on July 14, will be in Berlin's Olympic stadium and midfielder Andrich would like to make it two visits there this year after his team's German Cup win.

"I think that it (German Cup final) was very special for me, Olympic stadium, final training. These are special moments, more special than in other matches,"