Things are slowly hotting up for the Bayern players on duty with their national teams. Germany coach Joachim Löw had given his men a few days off, but on Tuesday morning they all gathered at the German FA (DFB) headquarters in Frankfurt. There the world champions were given a send-off before captain Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels, Joshua Kimmich, Sebastian Rudy and Niklas Süle departed for Russia.
Following their arrival in Moscow at around 4pm CEST, the Germany squad will make their way to their base around 40km southwest of the Russian capital. The defending champions will be using the training facilities of CSKA Moscow during the tournament. Löw’s main focus there will be fine-tuning his squad in the coming days, as well as the individual preparation for Germany’s group stage opponents.
James Rodriguez and Colombia also made the journey to Russia on Tuesday. Following a long training session on Monday at their camp in Milan, the South American side set off for Kazan, where they will be based for the duration of the tournament.
Thiago and Tolisso already in situ
Two FCB players have already been settling into their surroundings in the host nation. Thiago and Spain have been in Krasnodar since Thursday, while France also arrived early. Corentin Tolisso and his teammates have been completing their preparations for the world’s showpiece event in Istra, 40km west of Moscow, since Sunday.
Lewandowski still in Warsaw
While many of his Bayern teammates are already in Russia, Robert Lewandowski is still in his native Poland as they prepare for their final warm-up match against Lithuania in the Polish capital on Tuesday evening. Lewy & Co. will finally travel to their World Cup base in Sochi on Wednesday ahead of their opening match against Senegal on 19 June, making them the last team to get their tournament underway.