Germany have set sights on defending WCup title
Serial winner Kroos carries team hopes
BERLIN, May 24, (RTRS): There is only one thing on Germany’s mind going into the World Cup and that is to defend their title and become the first team in more than half a century to do so.
The Germans have lost just once in 23 games since their Euro 2016 semifinal defeat, cruising through the qualifiers with 10 wins in 10 matches and conceding just four goals in the process to advance to the World Cup.
Coach Joachim Loew also had the luxury of being able to field a secondstring team at last year’s Confederations Cup and still come away with the title, further adding to an already deep German bench.
The coach, in charge for his third World Cup, has a pool of at least three dozen players to chose from before his Group F campaign against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
A core of 2014 World Cup winners, including Thomas Mueller, Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos and Mesut Oezil, will form the team’s experienced backbone.
But not everyone’s starting spot is guaranteed, with world-class players such as Leroy Sane, Timo Werner, Julian Draxler, Ilkay Guendogan, and Marco Reus among those battling for their places.
There are still some question marks regarding the fitness of World Cupwinning keeper Manuel Neuer, who missed the season due to a foot injury and only recently returned to training.
Loew’s other options at keeper are just as strong, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp and Bernd Leno waiting in the wings.
Jerome Boateng’s potential absence after picking up an adductor muscle injury late in the season could pose problems as he had formed a strong partnership with Hummels in central defence.
Already ruled out are Lars Stindl, last year’s joint top scorer at the Confederations Cup, who damaged his ankle in a league game in late April, and the injured Serge Gnabry.
Loew should have no problem compensating for those absences with a wealth of talent waiting for their shot at what the Germany coach hopes will be their fifth world title to equal Brazil, who were also the last team to win back-to-back World Cups in 1958-62.
Kroos will carry the hopes of his nation for a successful World Cup title defence in Russia having matured into a natural leader of the team.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed another stellar season with Real Madrid, helping them to reach Saturday’s Champions League final against Liverpool. He also lifted the trophy with the Spanish giants in the past two seasons and was in the Bayern Munich team who won Europe’s top club competition in 2013.
Intelligent and highly skilled, Kroos is involved in almost every team move with his number of passes per game at around 80 and his average passing accuracy close to 95 percent.
Mistakes are rare, his most famous being a header back towards his own defence that almost gifted Argentina a goal in the 2014 World Cup final.
But Kroos’s authority on the pitch is not in doubt these days, even in his native Germany where he was long underestimated until his 2014 departure to Real, having earned 82 caps and scored 12 goals for his country.
His form is usually the barometer for Germany’s overall performance as the hard-working midfielder, whose crosses and set pieces are as effective as his passing, takes full responsibility within the team.
A 1-0 loss to Brazil in a friendly in March that ended Germany’s 22-game unbeaten run triggered an unusually angry reaction from the normally reserved Kroos, highlighting the growing role he plays for the team.