Spain manager Luis de la Fuente desperate to stop Toni Kroos – “We will appeal to UEFA” | OneFootball

The big match-up of the Euro 2024 quarter-finals takes place on Friday in Stuttgart, with Spain taking on Germany for a place in the last four of the competition. Ahead of the fixture, there has been plenty of talk surrounding Toni Kroos, who could be set to play the final match of his career.

Kroos announced in May that he would be retiring post-Euro 2024, and in the build-up to Friday’s showdown, former Real Madrid teammate Joselu Mato revealed his hope to end the 34-year-old career by this weekend. Joselu’s manager, Luis de la Fuente, did not say anything similar during his own press conference, but he did speak very highly of the midfield maestro, as per MD.

“Kroos is a superstar. He is footballer with a very high level. Football doesn’t leave these players, they leave football. The security that he transmits is contagious, he has been very good for Germany. It’s a shame that he wanted to leave football because I would love to continue watching him play.”

De la Fuente also joked about sabotaging Kroos for Friday’s clash.

“We had thought about tying Kroos’ feet together, but I don’t know if UEFA will let me… We will try to make sure that he does not have the possibility of receiving the ball easily and limit his passing options. We will appeal to UEFA to see if they let us tie him down.”

Limiting Kroos’ ability to dictate the play will undoubtedly increase Spain’s chance of defeating Germany in their own backyard. If remains to be seen whether de la Fuente can mastermind that on Friday.