Former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos enjoyed a successful swan song at EURO 2024, solving Germany’s long-standing problems in midfield in the process. Now that he is fully retired, though, the spot has opened anew — leaving notorious tinkering coach Julian Nagelsmann with a task ahead of him.
For the present, Kroos’ shoes will be filled by Borussia Dortmund midfielder Pascal Groß, according to Sport Bild (as captured via @iMiaSanMia):
Following Toni Kroos’ retirement, Robert Andrich and Pascal Groß currently have the edge to start in Germany’s midfield over Pavlović and Stiller. Joshua Kimmich is not an option for the position as he will continue to start at right-back [@BILD]
Germany is set to play two Nations League matches in the September international period, vs. Hungary on September 7th and vs. Netherlands on September 10th.
BFW Analysis
This was always the likeliest option — but had a viable right-back been available, Kimmich would be intriguing.
Borussia Dortmund’s Emre Can (30) was the like-for-like replacement for Andrich at EURO 2024 in the hard-nosed defensive role at EURO 2024. Groß, while not the same player as Kroos, offers more adventure, technical ability, and dynamism — as is needed for a partner to Andrich.
Bayern Munich youngster Aleksandar Pavlović (20) and former Bayern youth player Angelo Stiller (23), now at VfB Stuttgart, offer enticing alternatives to Groß (33). Both are more likely to still be in the squad at the 2026 World Cup, but evidently not ready to take the mantle just yet.
This leaves one of Germany’s most enticing positional battles open heading into the next world cup. Could another midfielder — or maybe, just maybe, another right-back — emerge to shake things up?
Looking to catch-up on Bayern Munich’s weekend, plus a breakdown of how each Bundesliga match played out? Great, then check out the latest episode of Bavarian Podcast Works — The Bundesliga Rundown with Marcus Iredahl. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
