Former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos could not help but aim a stinging criticism at the trio of Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, and Aleksandar Pavlović while discussing the announcement of coach Jürgen Klopp's squad for the Mannschaft, which will be revealed this Thursday.
In the podcast "Einfach Mal Luppen," which he hosts with his brother Felix, the 2014 World Cup winner joked about the players who might appear in the upcoming UEFA Nations League squad list. The challenge was to name three players who did not participate in the last World Cup.
According to the newspaper "AS," Kroos surprised everyone with a sarcastic response: "I pointed to three players who didn't participate in the World Cup: Pavlović, Wirtz, and Musiala."
The three were indeed part of the German team in the tournament, so it took Felix a few seconds to understand his brother's hint, and he replied: "What? What? In which World Cup did they not participate?" he asked before grasping the joke: "Because they weren't noticed or what?"
Toni Kroos was alluding to the lackluster performance of the trio during the tournament in which Germany was eliminated in the Round of 32 by Paraguay.
After the provocation, Kroos named three players who met the conditions set by his brother, whom he would like to see in Klopp's first squad: Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl, both from Bayern Munich, and Said El Mala, the rising star from Cologne.
For his part, Felix Kroos chose Yann Aurel Bisseck, Kevin Schade, and Grischa Prömel.
The German national team will soon play four matches in the UEFA Nations League against the Netherlands, Greece (twice), and Serbia.
