Toni Kroos, the retired Real Madrid and Germany midfielder, has delivered a frank critique of Julian Nagelsmann’s squad, warning that significant improvements in both defensive solidity and attacking output are required if Germany are to advance beyond the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Paraguay.
Speaking during a TikTok Live session, the 2014 World Cup winner pulled no punches in his assessment of where the team is currently falling short. “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,” Kroos said. He followed that observation with a direct call to Germany’s two most creative players: “And we need Musiala and Wirtz in top form – which we don’t have right now.”
Kroos retired from international football following Germany’s elimination at Euro 2024 on home soil, a tournament in which he had come out of international retirement to participate. His comments carry considerable weight given his experience at the highest level, having won the World Cup with Germany in Brazil and collected five UEFA Champions League titles during his club career.
Beyond the attacking concerns, Kroos questioned whether this current Germany generation possesses the mental fortitude to navigate adversity — a quality he believes previous squads demonstrated more convincingly. Drawing on a specific historical reference, he pointed to Germany’s Round of 16 victory over Algeria at the 2014 World Cup as a benchmark for resilience. “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,” he stated.
Germany’s defeat to Ecuador — which came after they had already secured qualification for the knockout stage — also drew scrutiny from Kroos, who disagreed with the suggestion from Nagelsmann that the team’s already-confirmed progress had played no role in the performance. While acknowledging the players’ commitment, Kroos was measured but firm in his pushback. “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 simply switch that off because it’s human nature,” he explained.
Despite the criticism, Germany are expected to retain Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz in their starting lineup against Paraguay. Both players have been central to Nagelsmann’s tactical approach throughout qualifying and the group stage, though neither has yet produced the consistently high-level performances that made them stand out during the 2024 European Championship campaign and at club level in the 2024-25 season.
Paraguay, who qualified from their group at the expanded 48-team tournament, present a defensively organised challenge that could further test the creative limitations Kroos has identified. Germany, one of the pre-tournament favourites, will be aware that the Round of 32 format introduced at the 2026 World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — leaves no margin for complacency in the early knockout rounds.
