Legendary midfielder Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) showed off his ruler-like passing skills in his first game of his final tournament.
“Toni Kroos had a 99% passing success rate (101/102) against Scotland,” soccer statistics outlet Opta reported on social media on Friday (June 15).
Germany’s “Chariots of Fire” thrashed Scotland 5-1 in their UEFA European Football Championship (Euro 2024) Group A opener at the Football Arena Munich in Munich, Germany, on Friday.
The hosts got off to a flying start, exploding with firepower from the opening whistle. Florian Wirz opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Jamal Musalla doubled the lead in the 19th minute.
In the 41st minute, Ilkay Gündoğan drew a penalty kick and an opponent’s ejection. Scottish center back Ryan Porteous was shown a red card for a two-footed tackle on Guindoan inside the penalty box. Kai Havertz then converted the penalty to give Germany a 3-0 halftime lead.
The German offense didn’t stop in the second half. In the 23rd minute, Niklas Fühlkrug scored his team’s fourth goal of the game. In the 41st minute, Scotland managed to pull one back through an Antonio Rudiger own goal, but Emre Can added another in stoppage time to end the game with a 5-1 German victory.
While Germany were the hosts of the tournament and showed off their better-than-expected form after a strong win, the performance of Kroos in the center of the midfield stood out.
Kroos started as a third midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 system and played until the 35th minute of the second half. While he didn’t have an offensive point against Scotland, he was the link in the chain with his incredible passing accuracy.
According to soccer stats site Opta, Cross had a 99% pass success rate on the day. In the 80 minutes he played, he attempted 102 passes and 토토사이트 only missed one. He also created four chances and completed all eight of his long passes for a 100% success rate.
Opta thumbs up Kroos’ incredible passing accuracy: “This is the highest success rate of all players who have attempted at least 100 passes in a Euro since 1980.”
Born in 1990, German midfielder Kroos is a self-proclaimed world-class midfielder. A product of the German Bundesliga’s Bayern Munich youth ranks, he made his first-team debut in 2007 and was a key midfielder for the club before leaving for Real Madrid in 2014.
At Real, Kroos excelled and became a club legend. He played 463 games for Real, making him the most capped German in the club’s history.
During that time, he won four La Liga titles and lifted the UEFA Champions League a whopping five times, bringing success to the club. Kroos once formed the “Camo” midfield alongside Luka Modric and Casemiro to win an unprecedented three consecutive Champions League titles. In 2023-24, they also won the Champions League, extending their tally to six titles.
Having won the UEFA Champions League, Kroos now has his sights set on Euro 2024 with Germany. Fans are especially interested in this tournament because it will be Kroos’ last official tournament.
After Euro 2024, Kroos has decided to call it quits. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time,” he explained of his decision to retire at the tender age of 34. “In the last few days, I came to the conclusion that this is my 10th season at Real and my last,” he added.
“Anyone who has listened carefully to me over the last few years will have heard me say that the only option for me is to end my career at Real, which means that my last season at Real will end this summer, and it will end with football,” he added.
With the legendary midfielder’s decision to call it a day, fans are eager to see if he can lift the trophy at the Euros. Kroos has won a World Cup, but has yet to win a trophy at the Euros. After a stellar performance in the first game of his final tournament, it will be interesting to see if he can lift the trophy and complete his farewell.