STUTTGART, Germany — For a player who made his career as a master of calm, Toni Kroos never imagined it would all end in chaos, but after 833 games for club and country, the final act of the German midfielder’s career was played out in a frenzy of fouls, missed chances, dramatic late goals, rejected penalties and a referee who issued 16 yellow cards and one red.
Germany’s dream of winning Euro 2024 as hosts ended in Stuttgart on Friday when Mikel Merino headed in a 119th-minute header to seal Spain’s 2-1 quarter-final victory. Luis de la Fuente’s side continue on to a semi-final in Munich on Tuesday, but it’s the end of the road for Germany and also for Kroos, the Real Madrid midfielder who had hoped to end his international career just as he did with Real when he signed as European champions.
But those are just the bare facts of an incredible 120 minutes that proved so unusual for Kroos and Germany, with Premier League referee Anthony Taylor and his VAR colleagues playing no small part in the drama. Had Taylor been more decisive in the fourth minute, when he failed to penalise Kroos for a cynical foul on Pedri that led to the Spain midfielder leaving the pitch moments later, the tone of this unforgettable game might have been very different.
By failing to sanction a gross foul so early in the game, Taylor allowed Germany to implement their game plan of physical intimidation that clearly unsettled Spain throughout the first half. Perhaps Taylor had chosen to give Kroos the benefit of the doubt because of his reputation as a world-class player who has enjoyed a remarkable career, but the referee simply gave the 34-year-old and his team-mates the right to manhandle Spain.
Germany played in fear of Spain’s quality and skill with the ball, while De la Fuente’s players were affected by another type of fear: the fear of being hit every time they approached a German opponent.
“Lamine Yamal is only 16 years old, which means our players have a great chance to control him,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said in his pre-match press conference. “We’ll see how he reacts when things get more difficult.”
His post-match message was no different and unrepentant.
“We started nervously, we made too many mistakes, we got too many yellow cards too early,” Nagelsmann said after the game. “But it was good, we wanted to show that we were there.”
So the tactics were clear and Kroos was the leader of the German pack, which was quite shocking to see. By the end of the game he had committed five fouls, three more than any other offender. He should have been booked for the foul on Pedri, well before he was finally booked midway through the second half for stopping Dani Olmo’s run towards goal. If there had been no defender to cover the pitch, Kroos could have been sent off. What an ending that would have been.
But Kroos was not the only one to be booked. Antonio Rüdiger, David Raum and Robert Andrich were booked for fouls on the young Spanish forwards and Germany were given eight yellow cards. As were Spain, who decided to fight fire with fire in the second half after their experience of the first half. Robin Le Normand’s booking rules him out of the semi-final, while Dani Carvajal will also miss out after two yellow cards, the second for tackling Jamal Musiala to the ground in extra time.
In a way, Nagelsmann’s decision to play a physical game was understandable. Spain have been the best team in this tournament so far and he believed the only way to win was to dominate them physically.
It was a flawed tactic, especially with the talent of Kroos and Musiala at his disposal. Florian Wirtz, whose 89th-minute goal cancelled out Olmo’s opener, was only called on as a substitute, and that decision summed up Nagelsmann’s approach.
Wirtz started every game for Spain, and that was the difference between the two teams, but even the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder was bitten by the cynicism bug. Ten seconds after coming on, he fouled Aymeric Laporte.
Perhaps that was the day Nagelsmann’s Germany showed their true colours, a team with dazzling young talent but also a team that relied too much on the performances of its ageing veterans. Germany were lucky to draw with Switzerland, and Spain were better than Switzerland, so the wins over Scotland, Hungary and Denmark were just wins against weaker opponents.
It is known that this was Kroos’ final farewell, but Rüdiger (31), Manuel Neuer (38), Ilkay Gündogan (33) and Thomas Müller (34) are expected to follow him into their international retirement. Even Emre Can, at 30, could find himself relegated to the past if Nagelsmann starts to rebuild before the 2026 World Cup.
“I don’t even know what the plan is at the moment, because I didn’t expect to be eliminated,” Nagelsmann said. “My team and I have the task of thinking about the squad and what to do in the Nations League in September.”
Nagelsmann may not have believed he could face Spain in a football match, preferring instead to adopt an underdog tactic. Germany are rarely underdogs, especially when hosting a major tournament.
Taylor’s initial leniency allowed Germany to stick to their basic approach until he began to show his strengths. If only Kroos could have influenced the team to play in a different way, more suited to his role as a midfield conductor with his incredible range of passing and vision. Instead, he was a destroyer and a disruptor.
When Germany changed tactics and engaged Spain in a football game at the end of the second half, the game had become child’s play. It was endless and totally unpredictable.
When the ball hit Marc Cucurella’s hand in the 106th minute, Germany called for a penalty, but VAR Stuart Attwell – the same referee who suggested a penalty for Germany against Denmark when the ball grazed Joachim Andersen’s fingers – dismissed the appeals. A penalty shootout seemed inevitable as the 120th minute approached, but Merino’s header from Olmo’s cross sealed the outcome with a minute to go.
Germany were then eliminated and the curtain fell on Kroos’ exceptional career, but not in the way one might have expected.