Russia 2018: The best player on every team at the World Cup

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Germany celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Final match between Germany and Argentina at Maracana on July 13, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /

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BERLIN, GERMANY – MARCH 27: Toni Kroos of Germany controls the ball during the international friendly match between Germany and Brazil at Olympiastadion on March 27, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Germany: Toni Kroos

There’s a running gag among certain Real Madrid journalists that Toni Kroos might be a robot. Kroos provides a service that, from our vantage point in the stands or on the sofa, seems simplistic, but it’s anything but. He was key in Germany’s World Cup win in Brazil, grabbing Man of the Match in that semifinal demolition of the hosts. He’ll be key once more in Russia.

What Kroos offers Real Madrid and the German national team is the ability to dictate the tempo of a match from any part of midfield and an outlet in transition. No matter where Kroos receives the ball or how much pressure he’s under, he can pass his way out of trouble. Often these are simple, efficient passes to his full-backs or thread-the-needle balls to the likes of Mesut Ozil. Other times, they’re long balls from deep to the center forward or winger. Kroos has it all in his locker.

Perhaps another, less appreciated trait of the German is that he rarely misses games and even less regularly shows signs of fatigue. The stamina of an iron man athlete and the accuracy of a machine. Maybe Kroos really is a footballing android.

One way or another, he’ll be a key cog for his team at this World Cup, as he was in Brazil and as he has been for Madrid over the course of his four-year stay in the Spanish capital.

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