Much attention would be paid to German veteran Toni Kroos, with the 34-year-old midfielder set to retire at the end of the German campaign.
Before the intense match against Spain, Joselu, Kroos' former teammate at Real Madrid, spoke on the occasion and said: "We hope to retire Toni on Friday."
“We hope it is his last game. It is a game that is not special because he is here. It's a quarterfinal against a great team. We hope to retire Toni on Friday. He has been a friend to me. I have spoken a lot with him and he has given me a lot of advice. He is fundamental for Germany and has been for Real Madrid. We have to be careful with him on Friday,” Joselu told reporters in the pre-match conference.
Joselu arrived at Real Madrid at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. The Spanish striker has been a lifelong Los Blancos fan and had a fairytale career with the club in which he scored a late double against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the competition that led his team to victory. He scored 17 goals and provided three assists in 49 games for Real Madrid despite starting only 18 of those games.
Joselu has already left the club and will play for Qatari side Al Gharafa next season.
“We know the conditions that Toni has. I think he is a fundamental player, but we cannot focus only on him. The ball goes through him every time Germany has possession and Toni is a player who represents everything for them. We will have to keep a special eye on him so that Germany does not enjoy the match. It is very important to win to qualify. About Toni, we have to believe in ourselves. We don't care about the other team's players. “I think Friday will be Toni's last game,” added the former Real Madrid forward.
Before the intense match against Spain, Joselu, Kroos' former teammate at Real Madrid, spoke on the occasion and said: "We hope to retire Toni on Friday."
“We hope it is his last game. It is a game that is not special because he is here. It's a quarterfinal against a great team. We hope to retire Toni on Friday. He has been a friend to me. I have spoken a lot with him and he has given me a lot of advice. He is fundamental for Germany and has been for Real Madrid. We have to be careful with him on Friday,” Joselu told reporters in the pre-match conference.
Joselu arrived at Real Madrid at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. The Spanish striker has been a lifelong Los Blancos fan and had a fairytale career with the club in which he scored a late double against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the competition that led his team to victory. He scored 17 goals and provided three assists in 49 games for Real Madrid despite starting only 18 of those games.
Joselu has already left the club and will play for Qatari side Al Gharafa next season.
“We know the conditions that Toni has. I think he is a fundamental player, but we cannot focus only on him. The ball goes through him every time Germany has possession and Toni is a player who represents everything for them. We will have to keep a special eye on him so that Germany does not enjoy the match. It is very important to win to qualify. About Toni, we have to believe in ourselves. We don't care about the other team's players. “I think Friday will be Toni's last game,” added the former Real Madrid forward.