WINSTON-SALEM: Former Germany midfielder Toni Kroos fears that national team could be eliminated early from the World Cup. "It has to be a nightmare to play against us, we need to be able to defend well and make it a nightmare for our opponents. We're not doing that yet," the 2014 world champion said in a live show on Tik Tok with his brother Felix and former Germany team-mate Lukas Podolski. "And we need Musiala and Wirtz in top form, which we don't have right now.
If neither of those things changes, it won't be long before we're out," he added. Podolski also pointed out some flaws in the team following the 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in the final group stage match and said it's important to learn from them quickly. "Maybe a loss like this is good sometimes. Maybe a loss like this is good so that everyone can go back to their rooms and think things over," said Podolski, who won the World Cup title alongside Kroos in Brazil in 2014. Germany won their first two matches and qualified to the knock-out stage as Group E winners, but the team was widely criticised after the defeat to Ecuador. "We had games in which we played poorly (in 2014), against Algeria,for example. But we were still able to win those games. I don't think the team has that anymore," Kroos said. Despite his critical remarks, he believes Germany are capable of holding their own against the top favourites at the World Cup. "And I stand by what I said: I believe that when it comes to the game against France, if everything comes together, we can beat them,"Kroos said. Germany will face Paraguay in the round of 32 and the winner will take on either France or Sweden in the last 16. — dpa
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