Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has remarkably been named as one of the worst players of the Qatar World Cup - despite the fact he retired from an international football over a year ago.
The bizarre claim came from Cristina Cubero while appearing on Spanish television, after she clearly had forgotten the former Bayern Munich man actually called time on his career with the German national team in June of 2021. Kroos international retirement came just one day after his nation were dumped out of the Euros by England at Wembley.
Kroos has since responded to the clip himself, quoting it on Twitter with a tweet that read: "I knew someone was going to blame" followed by a laughing emoji, which suggests the 32-year-old isn't taking the accusation he was to blame for Germany's poor showing too hard.
Kroos is viewed as a legend in his home country for his heroics in a German shirt, with the Los Blancos favourite playing a huge part in the 2014 World Cup triumph.
Astonishingly, the 1-0 win over Argentina in the final in Brazil those eight years ago was actually the last knock-out game Germany enjoyed at a World Cup.
Hansi Flick's men did drastically underwhelm in Qatar, failing to progress past the group stage for the second successive World Cup.
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Things got off to a terrible start when they were on the wrong end of a shock 2-1 scoreline against Japan, before they were then held to a 1-1 draw against Luis Enrique's Spain.
Germany's final clash in Group E saw them eventually batter Costa Rica 4-2 despite at one stage actually falling behind, but a surprise win for Japan against Spain meant it was the end of the road for the likes of Kai Havertz, Antonio Rudiger and Leroy Sane.
Their efforts were widely mocked and slammed back home, with hugely popular German publication BILD opting for the headline: "How embarrassing! We're out!" once their fate had been sealed.
They actually doubled down beyond the front page, writing inside: "For the second time in a row, Germany missed the knockout round of a World Cup. The bitter record: an embarrassing defeat against Japan, a strong draw against Spain and a resounding victory against Costa Rica. It is a disgrace!"
Their sentiments were actually echoed by Germany manager Flick, who told the media after their group stage elimination: "Our downfall didn't happen today, but in 20 minutes against Japan. We could have won against Spain with a bit more efficiency. Nevertheless, the disappointment is huge.
"I don't think the team weren't fired up. We missed a lot of chances in the first half and tried to do better in the second half. Yet, we have made a big contribution to the fact that we're now going home. My disappointment is huge, and my coaching staff feel the same way."
