AP PHOTOS: Revelers in costumes take to the streets of Germany to kick off carnival celebrations

Throngs of revelers in costumes took to the streets of Germany’s Carnival strongholds to celebrate the start of carnival season.

Carnival celebrations in the Rhineland traditionally begin on the 11th of November at 11:11 in the morning and last until Ash Wednesday the following year.

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The Duesseldorf carnival figure "Hoppeditz" awakens on the market square for the start of the carnival, in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday Nov. 11, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Costumed revelers pose in front of there Cologne Cathedral while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Revelers celebrate at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Revelers celebrate at the overcrowded Zuelpicher neighborhood while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Revelers dressed in costumes kiss at the Zuelpicher Street while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Revelers costumed as nuns and flamingos meet at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Costumed revelers celebrate at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Costumed revelers celebrate at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season.(AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A carnival reveller in a QAnon Shaman - Jacob Chansley costume poses in the Cologne city center while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Carnival revellers celebrate the start of carnival on the market square in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday Nov. 11, 2024. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Costumed revelers celebrate at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A costumed reveler smiles at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, on Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Costumed revelers celebrate at the central Heumarkt while tens of thousands of carnival fools take to the streets of Cologne, Germany, Monday, November 11, 2024, heralding the official start of the carnival season. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

It's crunch time for a host of Bundesliga players with ambitions of playing at the World Cup.

Bayern Munich 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl is fighting to keep his spot for Germany, Deniz Undav's scoring streak for Stuttgart has put pressure on coach Julian Nagelsmann to take him to the U.S. in June, and Alejandro Grimaldo's form for Bayer Leverkusen could help him earn a spot for Spain.

Oh, and there's still a title to be won.

Bayern comes back into action after the international break with a vast 11-point lead over Borussia Dortmund. If Bayern wins its next two games and Dortmund loses both, the title could be Bayern's as soon as April 11.

Dortmund heads to Stuttgart needing points to keep pace with Bayern. Stuttgart's third, chasing Champions League qualification, and with a host of players chasing World Cup spots for Germany like Undav, Angelo Stiller, Jamie Leweling and Chris Führich. Dortmund's Carney Chukwuemeka's just made his Austria debut, too.

The tasks for Bayern at Freiburg on Saturday: Take care of business and avoid any more injuries ahead of next week's Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid.

Eintracht Frankfurt's World Cup hopefuls have a lot to aim for, even if the team doesn't in seventh place with a big gap to the European places. Hosting Cologne on Sunday is a chance to impress for players like Japan winger Ritsu Doan, who captained his country against England, Germany defender Nathaniel Brown and Belgium center back Arthur Theate.

Undav is a hot topic in Germany after scoring seven goals in Stuttgart's last six Bundesliga games and the winning goal in Germany's friendly win over Ghana on Monday. He's the second-highest scorer in the league but Nagelsmann still sees him as a bench option despite the up-and-down Germany form of Newcastle's Nick Woltemade.

The uncertain fitness of Jamal Musiala has opened up space for youngster Karl to impress for Bayern, and now for Germany, too. He combined well with Florian Wirtz on debut in last week's 4-3 win over Switzerland. Bayern teammate Serge Gnabry's stock for Germany is also rising.

Grimaldo played the full 90 minutes of Spain's 0-0 draw with Egypt and the Leverkusen left back returns to his club to push for Champions League qualification. That starts with hosting relegation-threatened Wolfsburg on Saturday.

He's not confirmed out just yet but the “minor issue” that ruled Harry Kane out of England's friendly loss to Japan could be a concern for Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

Bayern's goalkeeping situation remains a concern, too. Manuel Neuer has been working his way back to fitness after not playing since March 6 and stand-in Jonas Urbig had a setback when a knee injury forced him out of Germany's squad.

It's the first game of a new era at Dortmund after Ole Book replaced Sebastian Kehl as sporting director. The future of defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who has a year left on his contract, is as unclear as ever.

The Easter holidays in Germany mean a tweak to the Bundesliga schedule. Instead of the usual Friday game, there are seven on Saturday and two on Sunday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Lennart Karl of Germany and Derrick Kohn of Ghana challenge for the ball during an international friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Scorer Deniz Undav of Germany celebrates after winning an international friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)