Spain boss Luis de la Fuente has joked that he is considering a drastic plan to stop Germany midfield maestro Toni Kroos which would get him in trouble with UEFA. The two nations will go head-to-head in a blockbuster clash in Stuttgart with a place in the Euro 2024 semi-finals up for grabs.
Kroos is likely to be a danger man for Germany as he prepares to bring the curtain down on his professional career after the tournament. He has started every match for his country and boasts a pass completion rate of 95 per cent, more than any other player at the Euros.
Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, De la Fuente singled out Kroos as the player who could make the difference for Germany and joked that he thought about stopping him with an unusual tactic.
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"Kroos is world class, a footballer of a brutal level," he said. "Football doesn’t leave these players, they leave football. The confidence that he transmits has been very good for Germany. It is a pity that he wanted to leave football because I would love to continue watching him play.
"We had thought about tying Kroos’ feet, but I don’t know if UEFA will let me! We know what Kroos is like. We’ll try to make sure he doesn’t have a chance to receive easily and limit his passing options. We’ll appeal to UEFA to see if they’ll let us tie him down!"
It comes after Spain forward Joselu warned Kroos that he will be looking to send him into retirement by condemning Germany to a quarter-final defeat.
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"It was an honour to have played with Toni," said Joselu, who won the Champions League alongside Kroos for Real Madrid last season. "He embodies all of Real's values and was an excellent team-mate. I got a lot of advice from him.
"We hope to send him into retirement on Friday. We must not worry about players from other national teams. As much as I love Toni, Friday's game will be his last."
Kroos went on to hit back at Joselu after being made aware of his comments, saying: "I can understand him saying that, but we have a lot to say about it. The Spaniards have been playing well so far, but so have we.
"We can look forward to an interesting game. I'll let him have his wish and will do everything I can to prevent it from coming true."
