Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Germany vs Iceland; Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos not thinking about Mannschaft return; PSG joins Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus in pursuit of Chelsea’s Antonio Rüdiger; plus MORE!

Die Folgen: Germany’s 4-0 win over Iceland (Bavarian Football Works)

The Bayern Munich boys are finally headed home.

Germany thrashed Iceland 4-0 in a game that was never really competitive. All in all, this international break was a very successful first stint at manager for Hansi Flick. He beat the teams he was supposed to beat. That is not something we could always say over the past 6.5 years.

Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• First . . . Reykjavik: that setting is awesome. There is just something inherently cool about playing a game in Iceland.
• The game ended 4-0, but could have easily been 7-0 or 8-0 [editor: *cough, cough TIMO WERNER,* cough].
• I’ll say it again: Germany looks far more confident and pacey under Hansi Flick. Offensively, the team exhibits a sense of urgency on every possession. This is very similar to the effect that Flick had on Bayern Munich in 2019/2020.
• Germany’s first goal, by Serge Gnabry, was masterful. Such great passing, movement, and vision to go from Niklas Süle to Joshua Kimmich to Leroy Sane to Gnabry for the Chef’s Special.
• Germany Gnabry > Bayern Munich Gnabry, right?
• It was nice of Iceland to make sure Manuel Neuer was still awake at the 16 minute mark with a shot on goal.
• I currently do not—and really never have—seen what is so great about İlkay Gündoğan. He’s a fine player . . . but, I mean, I’m not sure he is worthy of all the hype he has received in his career.
• Anyway, it was good to see Iceland apply some pressure to Germany. Neither Liechtenstein nor Armenia did so.
• Joshua Kimmich’s delivery to Antonio Rüdiger was tremendous, and the Chelsea FC defender’s header was perfectly struck.
• The sight of Birkir Bjarnason’s flowing mane when he was running was what I always aspired to have.
• Oooof. Bad miss by Kai Havertz in the 55th minute after an unselfish feed from Werner.
• Sane picked up Havertz shortly thereafter with a really nice finish. Leon Goretzka had a really nice assist on the play as well.
• The Chelsea boys struggled on offense. Werner missed a complete sitter after a great cross from Lukas Klostermann.
• Klostermann looked lively during his stint on the pitch.
• Werner had himself a game of misses, though. The man could have easily had a hat trick. He finally got his goal, though, thanks to some great spin on the ball and an astute (and generous) Havertz, who shielded it as it spun in.
• Overall, just a tremendous round of qualifiers for Germany under Hansi Flick.

If you missed our Initial Analysis, Match Awards, Observations, and Postgame Podcast, give them a look or a listen:

Kroos not considering a return to Germany (Transfer Market Web)

Just in case you were wondering, Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos is not considering a return to Die Mannschaft:

Toni Kroos has no plans to revise his DFB resignation. “After the European Championship, we deliberately had a long conversation in which I told him (editor: national coach Hansi Flick) my idea, my plan, my wish,” said Real Madrid’s ball distributor in the Podcast ‘Einfach mal Luppen’, which he runs with his brother Felix, “The outcome is well known.”

“I hope,” notes Kroos, “that Hansi is so successful with the team that he doesn’t even have to think about calling me about anything to do with sports.” the former national player declared after a total of 106 internationals.

[editor: JAAAAAWOOOOHL!]

This is cool: five British brothers hilariously recreate Euro 2020 magic (via @ESPNFC)

Here are some recreations of the top moments of the Euros:

[editor: seriously, I was laughing out loud. These guys rock. Baby Saka and Southgate—I lost it.]

PSG also chasing Rüdiger (Transfer Market Web)

Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly joining Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Juventus in the pursuit of Antonio Rüdiger:

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly entered the race for Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger. Rüdiger has less than 12 months remaining on his current deal at Stamford Bridge and will be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in January as it stands.

According to Le 10 Sport, PSG are interested in taking advantage of the Germany international’s contract situation. PSG join Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the race for Chelsea defender

[editor: I mean, awesome! Go get him, PSG!]

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. RB Leipzig (Bavarian Football Works)

Crunch time is here! Bayern Munich will be facing two strong teams in just four days: a weekend fixture at Leipzig, followed by a midweek Champions League game against Barcelona. RB Leipzig will definitely be a tough test for Nagelsmann early in the season. They have a star-studded cast of seasoned veterans and some top youth talents who can take on any team on their day.

In this podcast, we will preview Bayern’s fixture against Leipzig and touch on some other topics, like Flick’s impact on the German NT.

Here are the key talking points:

• A reinvigorated German NT side
• RB Leipzig’s squad (transfers in/out and their impact)
• Leipzig’s current form
• Bayern’s injury crisis
• Lineup and final scoreline predictions

Interesting discussion on dual nationals (@CBSSports)

How do players decide who to play for when they have the ability to play for multiple nations? Here is an interesting discussion on the topic: