Germany’s Toni Kroos has a laser focus on France

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos was happy to see Germany excel during its 7-1 victory over Latvia on Monday, but the veteran is well-aware that all roads to glory lead right through the 2018 World Cup winner, France.

“The first game is decisive. It does us no good to talk about quarterfinals or semifinals,” Kroos said (as captured by Tz). “We have to win the first game right away, otherwise it’s all for naught.”

While some might consider that viewpoint a little extreme, Kroos does have a point. This Germany team has not been the most consistent group and a disappointing effort against France could make it hard to the squad to regroup under adversity.

One aspect of that match that could help Germany is that there will be fans in the stands when Die Mannschaft takes on Les Blues at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Kroos talked about how it was to play in front of spectators against Latvia.

“It was soothing. I don’t know how many were there, but it’s really cool to get reaction to action again,” Kroos said.