World Cup 2018: Germany’s Toni Kroos reveals formula for glory in Russia
Real Madrid star has won tons of trophies including the 2014 World Cup and has his sights set on glory in Russia
COMMITMENT. Sacrifice. Self-motivation. Willpower.
Toni Kroos has revealed Germany’s quadratic formula for World Cup glory.
The Real Madrid schemer knows exactly what is needed to succeed in football’s biggest competitions after winning three Champions Leagues, four German and Spanish league titles and the 2014 World Cup.
And as he prepares to launch his country’s defence of their crown against Mexico on Sunday, he says there are four basic qualities that make the Germans stand out from the crowd.
Speaking ahead of their Group F opener in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, Kroos declared: “Commitment, sacrifice, self-motivation and willpower — those are the key requirements of this Germany team.
“Everyone here is an elite player and the self-confidence we all have comes from having won something major before we go into a tournament.
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“It’s very important to have a solid backbone of experienced players who have won major trophies together.
“But if there is someone in the group who has not featured in previous World Cups yet is still a menace for the opposition, that’s fair enough as well.”
Having made such a major contribution to Real’s recent Champions League final win against Liverpool, midfielder Kroos is entitled to have a bit of a swagger about him.
Yet he admits the emotions of that night in Kiev have taken their toll and added: “When you have been working so hard to reach a specific goal and then you realise that ambition, it’s not always easy to raise yourself for another objective.
Road to Russia
QUALIFYING RESULTS
04/09/16 Norway A 3-0
08/10/16 Czech Republic H 3-0
11/10/16 Northern Ireland H 2-0
11/11/16 San Marino A 8-0
26/03/17 Azerbaijan A 4-1
10/06/17 San Marino H 7-0
01/09/17 Czech Republic A 2-1
04/09/17 Norway H 6-0
05/10/17 Northern Ireland A 3-1
08/10/17 Azerbaijan H 5-1
TOP SCORERS
5 Sandro Wagner
5 Thomas Muller
3 Serge Gnabry
3 Timo Werner
3 Leon Goretzka
3 Julian Draxler
MOST APPEARANCES
10 Joshua Kimmich
9 Thomas Muller
8 Mats Hummels
“The Champions League final has been ticked off and it’s only natural to lower your metabolism and reduce your energy levels after that.
“But it only took me two or three days after Kiev to rebuild my hunger to play well because there is no greater incentive than the World Cup.
“When you have lived through something as magical as the 2014 World Cup final, you want to relive that experience as many times as possible. My motivation level is back to where it has always been.”
To absolutely nobody’s surprise, the German perfectionists are leaving nothing to chance in their precise preparations this week.
Their newly refurbished team hotel on the outskirts of Moscow has not exactly lived up to everyone’s expectations as Kroos revealed: “When you come to a hotel where everything is brand new, it’s logical that not everything works.
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“For instance, some of the guys turned on the shower in their rooms and there was no water.
“But the hotel is very keen to do the best it can. We have nothing to complain about and we won’t use the hotel situation as an excuse for anything.”
The Germans did, though, moan about the exact length of the grass of the training pitch at CSKA Moscow.
A spokesman for the German FA confirmed: “The grass was the Fifa recommended length of 25 millimetres but Germany want it between 22 and 23 millimetres and so they have mown the pitch.”
However, the length of the grass could not excuse Germany’s lacklustre performances in their recent warm-up games against Brazil, Austria and Saudi Arabia.
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Kroos, 28, admitted: “I didn’t like the overall attitude of the team against Brazil and against Saudi Arabia. We didn’t perform to the best of our abilities.
“The warm-up games were underwhelming and we know we have to step up a gear.”
Centre-half Jerome Boateng added: “What we lacked in the warm-up games was the right kind of internal fire, the candle of ambition and commitment.
“We didn’t exactly sparkle but friendlies are completely different to competitive matches and I am sure you will see us hit the ground running on Sunday.”