Toni Kroos sends strong warning to Germany ahead of Paraguay World Cup clash

Former Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has challenged his country's national team to raise its performance levels before facing Paraguay in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The retired Real Madrid star believes Germany still has the quality to compete for the title but insists major improvements are needed if Julian Nagelsmann's side hopes to progress further in the tournament.

Kroos singled out Germany's creative duo, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, stressing that both players must return to their best if the team is to unlock opposition defences in the knockout rounds.

While praising the squad's commitment, he admitted the team's attacking rhythm has fallen below expectations.

"It has to be nasty to play against us, meaning we need to be capable of defending well and being gritty. We aren’t doing that yet," Kroos said during a TikTok Live session.

He added, "And we need Musiala and Wirtz in top form – which we don’t have right now."

The 2014 World Cup winner also questioned Germany's ability to grind out victories when performances are below par, comparing the current squad to previous generations.

He recalled Germany's difficult Round of 16 victory over Algeria at the 2014 World Cup as an example of a team capable of surviving difficult moments.

"If both of these things don’t change, we won’t last much longer. We used to have matches where we played poorly too – like against Algeria. But we were still able to win those bad games. I don’t think this current team has that in them," Kroos said.

Kroos also offered his thoughts on Germany's mindset after qualification for the knockout stage had already been secured before their defeat to Ecuador.

Although he praised the players' attitude, he disagreed with suggestions that qualification had no impact on the team's performance.

"This is a group that gives everything. However, I don’t agree with the coach saying that complacency had absolutely nothing to do with it. You always have that in the back of your mind when you’ve already qualified. You can’t simply switch that off because it's human nature," he explained.

Despite recent criticism, Germany is expected to retain faith in Musiala and Wirtz when they take on Paraguay in the Round of 32.