{"id":418598,"date":"2026-06-27T11:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/?p=418598"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:52:23","slug":"toni-kroos-takes-aim-at-germany-squad-and-warns-of-world-cup-exit-against-paraguay-unless-two-major-issues-are-solved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/toni-kroos-takes-aim-at-germany-squad-and-warns-of-world-cup-exit-against-paraguay-unless-two-major-issues-are-solved\/","title":{"rendered":"Toni Kroos takes aim at Germany squad and warns of World Cup exit against Paraguay unless two major issues are solved"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Germany legend Toni Kroos has pulled no punches in his assessment of the national team following their underwhelming group-stage conclusion. The 2014 World Cup winner warned that Julian Nagelsmann&#8217;s side face an immediate exit in the knockout rounds unless they urgently address glaring defensive vulnerabilities and recover the form of their talismanic players.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goal.com\/en\/team\/germany\/3l2t2db0c5ow2f7s7bhr6mij4\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Defeat exposes veteran lineupGermany comfortably secured top spot in Group E following a resounding\u00a07-1 victory over Curacao\u00a0and a narrow\u00a02-1 win against Ivory Coast. However, despite an early opener from Leroy Sane,\u00a0Nagelsmann\u2019s side fell to a 2-1 defeat against Ecuador\u00a0in their final group match.\u00a0Fielding their oldest starting lineup at a World Cup since 1998, the aging squad turned in a sluggish performance that drew heavy criticism from pundits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kroos demands gritty approach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Expectations were sky-high for Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz heading into the tournament, but both playmakers struggled as their dribbling threat was neutralised by Ecuador&#8217;s physical approach. Speaking on his\u00a0TikTok live show\u00a0alongside Lukas Podolski, Kroos openly disagreed with Nagelsmann, who had refused to question his players&#8217; absolute desire to win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kroos stated: &#8220;It has to be nasty to play against us, meaning we need to be capable of defending well and being gritty. We aren&#8217;t doing that yet. And we need [Jamal] Musiala and [Florian] Wirtz in top form &#8211; which we don&#8217;t have right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;If both of these things don&#8217;t change, we won&#8217;t last much longer. We used to have matches where we played poorly too &#8211; like against Algeria. But we were still able to win those bad games. I don&#8217;t think this current team has that in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;This is a group that gives everything. However, I don&#8217;t agree with the coach saying that [complacency] had absolutely nothing to do with it. You always have that in the back of your mind when you&#8217;ve already qualified. You can&#8217;t just block it out; it&#8217;s completely human. We are simply not a physical team.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Podolski urges quiet reflectionWhile Nagelsmann defended the application of his players after rotated selections, former forward Podolski agreed that the unexpected setback could serve as a valuable wake-up call. Despite acknowledging their structural shortcomings, both veterans maintained faith in the squad&#8217;s ultimate potential if they successfully navigate the initial knockout hurdles.Podolski added: &#8220;Maybe a defeat like this is a good thing. To get a slap in the face. So that everyone says: &#8216;Alright, let&#8217;s calm down now.&#8217; Maybe a loss like this does some good, so that everyone takes a moment to reflect in their own room. We shouldn&#8217;t just talk everything down now. Let&#8217;s push the boys.&#8221;Kroos concluded: &#8220;And I stand by my statement: I believe that if it comes to a match against France, if everything clicks, we can beat them.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Knockout phase challenges await<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the recent disappointing performance,\u00a0Nagelsmann has no plans to abandon the Musiala and Wirtz partnership\u00a0for\u00a0Monday&#8217;s round-of-32 tie against Paraguay in Foxborough. Germany must swiftly restore their defensive strength and ignite their creative play to overcome a resilient South American side. A victory would potentially set up a monumental round-of-16 blockbuster against tournament favourites France, leaving the out-of-form team with no margin for error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Germany legend Toni Kroos has pulled no punches in his assessment of the national team following their underwhelming group-stage conclusion. The 2014 World Cup winner warned that Julian Nagelsmann&#8217;s side face an immediate exit in the knockout rounds unless they urgently address glaring defensive vulnerabilities and recover the form of their talismanic players. Kroos demands [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-418598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":418599,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418598\/revisions\/418599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}