Kroos responds to Joselu: "I do not expect Friday to be my last game"

Toni Kroos is experiencing his last days as a professional footballer. He will hang up his boots on 14 July at the latest. But Spain's plans are not to wait that long, but to do it this Friday.

Joselu, on Wednesday, assured that they want to retire his former Real Madrid team-mate, which would mean a victory for 'la Roja'. Kroos has been quick to respond to him in a press conference.

"It's normal to say that, they want to win the tournament. I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen. They are here to win, we are here to win. We'll see what happens on Friday. The important thing is that they didn't want me to retire at Madrid, they are my friends," a smiling Kroos told the media.

The German midfielder, who has returned to the national team, was also asked about Lehmann's controversial words about 'La Roja': "These words don't represent us. He always has a slightly different opinion. They have already shown they have experience: Rodri, Morata, Nacho, Carvajal.... It's not true what he says. We expect a very top Spain. They play well, but so do we. It will be nice.

"If I didn't have important objectives, I wouldn't have returned to the national team, but I felt it was a golden opportunity to win the European Championship with these players. At Madrid, on the other hand, it was about maintaining the same level of success season after season, which is why I decided to retire.

"I am fully aware that football will not be an important part of my life, but I am not scared. There is a lot of quality in both teams. We know Spain, their strengths and weaknesses. In my opinion, for a long time now, these matches have been decided in midfield. Both teams have a lot of fantastic individuals, but we both want to have possession. We'll see what we can do with it," Kroos explained of Friday's clash.

There were several big names he spoke about at the press conference. One of them is Spain's rising star Lamine Yamal: "He's been at Barcelona for a year and it's incredible the confidence with which he plays. He is one of the most dangerous players. We have played against each other several times and he is impressive. Spain have very good wingers, Nico is also very good and we all have to defend him together.