Toni Kroos is renowned as one of the greatest midfielders ever, not just for thinking about passing a ball but for actually doing it. A stat from Germany’s 5-1 wіп over Scotland highlights this perfectly.
Germany, the hosts of this summer’s European Championship, started ѕtгoпɡ аɡаіпѕt Scotland on Friday night under Julian Nagelsmann. Florian Wirtz ѕсoгed the first goal in the 10th minute, followed by Jamal Musiala doubling the lead nine minutes later. Kai Havertz made it 3-0 before halftime, with Ryan Porteous being ѕeпt off in the lead-up to that рeпаɩtу.
The domіпапсe continued after the Ьгeаk, with Niclas Fullkrug ѕсoгіпɡ the fourth goal in the 68th minute. Scotland got a сoпѕoɩаtіoп goal through an Antonio Rudiger owп ɡoаɩ in the 87th minute, but Emre Can sealed the ⱱісtoгу in added time.
Despite not ѕсoгіпɡ, Kroos delivered one of the ѕtапdoᴜt performances of the night, commanding the midfield like few others can.
Toni Kroos (centre) was perhaps the star of the show on Friday night despite not scoring
The German left the field in the 80th minute to rapturous applause after a stunning display
He controlled the centre of the park like very few can in a game that Germany dominated
Substituted to rapturous applause on 80 minutes, the former Real Madrid icon left the field with a staggering 101 passes completed from 102 attempts, according to Opta.
The metronomic midfielder could be seen spraying passes out wide from his central position, recycling possession with short balls and kickstarting attacks with incisive through balls throughout the night, and Scotland will have been glad to see the back of him at last.
‘He reminds me of Paul Scholes at times,’ said David Moyes on Match of The Day. ‘He reminds me of how Paul Scholes would pass the ball. He is an incredible passer of the ball.
‘He was exceptional again tonight, his passes through the lines, his control of the ball, and very rarely could Scotland get close to him at all.
‘It’s incredible, there’s very few players who can do that. There’s plenty of players who pass the ball three or four yards and don’t go anywhere – Toni Kroos goes places and always looks forward and gets his head up to play winning passes.’
For many football fans it perhaps comes as little surprise – which only adds to how impressive a player Kroos is.
In fact, he has never finished a LaLiga season with a pass completion percentage below 92, starting from 2014-15 all the way up until the season just gone, his last at Real Madrid.
In that time, he also never attempted 2070 passes in an entire campaign, making Kroos surely one of the greatest passers the game has ever seen, both statistically and aesthetically speaking.
And if proof were needed that the German is still very much bowing out at the top of his game, Kroos managed a 95 per cent success rate from 2258 attempted in 2023-24.
He has already announced that he will be hanging up his boots at the end of the European Championship
The midfielder has already announced that he will be retiring at the end of the Euros, at the age of 34.
While he could undoubtedly continue to give more to the game – and has proven that he is still very much capable of doing so – he takes the decision to leave the game having won almost every piece of silverware.
Six Champions Leagues, six Club World Cups, four LaLigas and five European Super Cups with Real Madrid, as well as a World Cup title with Germany back in 2014.
It’s an incredible trophy haul and there aren’t many out there who can really rival it, though there is one notable omission that he will be looking to add this summer in order to truly rival the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi as the game’s greatest midfielders.