Kroos issues wake-up call to Germany

DEFEAT by Brazil in Tuesday’s friendly highlighted Germany’s need for sharp improvement ahead of the World Cup in June and players would be wise not to believe the hype created around the world champion, midfielder Toni Kroos warned.

Germany, which fielded a second string team, was far from convincing against the five-time world champion, eager to earn back some pride after its 7-1 semifinal loss to Germany in the World Cup four years ago.

The hosts showed very little in terms of attacking appetite and littered the pitch with mistakes, prompting the 28-year-old Kroos, a 2014 world champion and the team’s midfield dynamo, to ring alarm bells.

“You could see that we are not as good as we are constantly being told we are or even as some of us may think we are,” he said after the 0-1 loss. “We need to improve on many fronts. We made easy mistakes, failed to keep possession up front.”

Germany has set its sights on a title defense and coach Joachim Loew has some three dozen players to choose from, with each position at least covered twice.

Its perfect qualification with 10 wins out of 10 matches, in which it conceded just four goals, and its 22-game unbeaten run going into Tuesday’s encounter had helped give the team an air of invincibility.

But after a draw against Spain and defeat by Brazil, it knows it will need to up the ante as the World Cup approaches.