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The competition for places in Germany’s squad are starting to heat up at the team’s training camp in South Tyrol, Italy. After a fiercely contested duel, Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich and Chelsea's Antonio Rüdiger went forehead to forehead in a heated exchange of words (Bild). Assistant coach Miroslav Klose intervened to break the two up before the situation escalated. After the players cooled off, the coaches proceeded with the session.
An Altercation broke out between Joshua Kimmich and Antonio Rudiger In Germany training after a strong Challenge, Miroslav Klose had to separate them ( BILD ) pic.twitter.com/dgjobpp3tZ
— * (@CheIseaMovement) May 29, 2018
That wasn't the only incident at an increasingly testy training camp: Julian Draxler took an elbow to the face while jostling for position with Leroy Sané and remained on the turf for a few moments. After he was treated by the team’s medical staff and held a cool-pack on his face for a brief while, Draxler was able to continue training and complete the session.
Julian Draxler got KOed in today's training pic.twitter.com/VwqkIeS54f
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) May 29, 2018
Preparations for the World Cup have been running smoothly up until now, but Joachim Low must make the final cuts to his provisional roster by June 4th, only six days away. Four players face the prospect of heading home while the rest of the squad heads to Germany's training camp in Russia.
Speaking about the incidents, Mats Hummels said it was nothing out of the ordinary, considering that everyone is working for a spot in Low’s starting eleven:
It's really intense. Everyone wants to commend himself for the squad, for the World Cup XI.