Toni Kroos Warns Germany To Improve Or Risk World Cup Exit Against Paraguay

Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has warned Germany must quickly solve their tactical and creative problems or risk crashing out of the FIFA World Cup when they face Paraguay in the round of 32.

Kroos believes Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have yet to hit their best form, insisting Germany’s hopes of progressing depend heavily on both playmakers rediscovering their spark. Despite the concerns, he remains convinced the squad has what it takes to beat the tournament’s strongest sides if everything finally falls into place.

“It has to be nasty to play against us, meaning we need to be capable of defending well and being gritty. We aren’t doing that yet. And we need Musiala and Wirtz in top form, which we don’t have right now,” Kroos said on a TikTok Live show.

“If both of these things don’t change, we won’t last much longer. We used to have matches where we played poorly too, like against Algeria. But we were still able to win those bad games. I don’t think this current team has that in them.

“This is a group that gives everything. However, I don’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’ve already qualified. You can’t just block it out; it’s completely human. We are simply not a physical team.”

Germany are still expected to stick with Musiala and Wirtz against Paraguay despite both struggling to influence the defeat to Ecuador. A win would send Julian Nagelsmann’s side into the last 16, where a blockbuster clash with France could be waiting.