Toni Kroos, midfielder for Germany, is optimistic that his spectacular career will continue after his match against Spain in the Euro 2024 quarterfinal.
After Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final, Kroos, 34, concluded his professional career with a win. After the Euros, where he hopes to hoist the cup with Germany on July 14, he declared he would resign permanently.
The German team will have a formidable test on Saturday when they play Spain, which is regarded as the greatest team in the tournament thus far, but Kroos is optimistic.
At Germany's base camp in Herzogenaurach on Wednesday, Kroos told reporters, “I don't expect it to be my last game.”
“We have set ourselves the aim to win the tournament.”
As a result, he said he is not entering his 114th cap with “any kind of nostalgia” and insisted that reaching the last eight was not a bonus yet.
However, he still spoke of a success to have advanced because there had been plenty of doubts around the team before the home tournament.
“There were huge doubts from all sides beforehand. We achieved a certain minimum goal. You can no longer speak of a disaster,” he said.
Kroos came out of international retirement in March and then said in May he would end his career after the Euros.
He won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and many titles with Bayern Munich and Real, where he had played since 2014, and won five of his six Champions League crowns.
Spain has not lost a tournament match against Germany since 1988 and has beaten them in both previous knockout matches, the Euro 2008 final and the 2010 World Cup semis.
