Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos is transitioning to the next stage of his career after being a coach on the field and one of the greatest midfielders in the history of this game as a six time Champions League winner, retiring on top of his game as a Ballon d'Or candidate. Next up, he may join the Madrid front office in a role where he is groomed to be the next leader at the club a la Zinedine Zidane, but, for now, he is giving his takes as a pundit.
So when Kroos speaks, people listen, and just as he was as a player, the former 2014 World Cup winner - and the best player at the World Cup by Castrol Performance Index - is never afraid to tell it like it is.
And, well, the German national team needs a lot of harsh truths delivered. Julian Nagelsmann has let the early fame of his career go to his head, and though he has never won a major trophy, he has managed with an ego of Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho that has left the fan base disgruntled. He has not gotten the most out of some of the stars of Germany, but at the same time, those players have to perform better, too.
Toni Kroos wants Germany to play nastier, too
In a referendum on the German national team after they stumbled into the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup with a loss to underdogs Ecuador, who outplayed and outcoached Germany, Toni Kroos did not mince words, and he also called out Liverpool and Bayern Munich star playmakers Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala for underperforming.
Kroos said on Sky Sports Germany, "It has to be a nasty game to play against us for us to be able to defend well and nasty. We're not doing that yet. And we need Musiala and Wirtz in top form – we don't have that. If both of those things don't change, it won't last much longer."
So not only does Kroos think Germany need to play with more of an edge, which is perhaps where Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger and his antics can help the team (despite what some national team fans have said to criticize him), but he also thinks the stars need to shine more.
And when you look at the raw numbers, he is 100 percent right. Liverpool fans may not want to admit it, but Wirtz has been a shell of himself since the big move and that has extended to the World Cup. He has great creative numbers but no goals and isn't getting into the box enough.
Meanwhile, Jamal Musiala is the jewel of Germany but has been even worse. Affected by his injury history, Musiala does have a goal, but his creative capacity and genius for the solution against the low block has been missing. Neither player has been awful, but they are not meeting the superstar standard and could be in bigger trouble when Germany play better teams than the ones in the group stages.
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