Germany’s Toni Kroos hoping for ‘cheesy’ career end with Euro 2024 win
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Germany' midfielder Toni Kroos during a training session at the team's training camp in Herzogenaurach on June 11.
PHOTO: AFP
BERLIN – Germany veteran Toni Kroos is hoping to sign off from his national career with a dream victory on home soil in Euro 2024 and admitted on June 11 that the prospect was almost “a bit too cheesy”.
The 34-year-old lifted the Champions League for a sixth time in his last match for Real Madrid as the Spanish giants beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on June 1. The 2014 World Cup winner is set to retire after the European Championship.
He stepped down from international duty after Germany’s last-16 Euro exit to England in 2021 but answered a call in February from coach Julian Nagelsmann to return to the squad.
Speaking at Germany’s training base in the Bavarian village of Herzogenaurach, a “hungry” Kroos said he would not have come back if he did not believe in a sentimental ending.
“That ending would be a bit too cheesy, with the Champions League and the European Championship, but I’ll take it,” he added. “I still want to be successful and I want to win the tournament this summer. That’s quite clear.
“If I didn’t feel this idea – or this fantasy – was possible, then I wouldn’t have come back, because it’s always about winning any competition I play in.”
The midfielder started his career at Bayern Munich in 2007 before moving to Real and has won almost every trophy on offer at national and international level, other than the European Championship.
While saying he did not get nervous before games, Kroos, who made his Germany debut in 2010, said he was under particular pressure to deliver from his three kids.
“Of course they’re expecting victory. They’re a bit spoiled by success,” he said.
“They haven’t seen much of that (with Germany) in the past few years, but they’re assuming we’ll win the title here, otherwise it’ll be hard for them to accept.”
Germany face Scotland in Group A on June 14 in the tournament’s opener, before taking on Hungary and Switzerland.
“With Scotland, we know what kind of opponent waits for us. They’re tough to play against, physically strong and compact in defence and are quick on the counter,” Kroos added.
“They’re the type of opponent we’ve had problems with recently.”
Three-time European champions Germany reached the semi-finals of the tournament in 2016 but have since endured a poor run at major tournaments.
They were eliminated at the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, before suffering the same fate at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, either side of an early exit from Euro 2020.
Meanwhile, Kroos’ former Real teammate Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice for Portugal as they comfortably beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 on June 11 in their final Euro 2024 warmup. Joao Felix was also on target as Roberto Martinez’s side bounced back from a defeat by Croatia on June 8.
“The Portuguese expect a lot from Portugal, there’s no margin for error, they always want Portugal to win,” said Ronaldo. “This team has to dream and work hard, because just having talent is no use if there’s no hard work.”
The 39-year-old will appear at a record sixth edition of the tournament, having played in his first back in 2004.
Portugal’s first match is against the Czech Republic on June 18, before facing Turkey and Georgia in Group F. AFP