Toni Kroos: “We can all be proud because we were able to give German football hope again”

Speaking after Germany’s desperately disappointing yet utterly enthralling loss to Spain in the 2024 European Championship, Toni Kroos acknowledged the horrible bitterness that pervaded Germany as a result of this loss, but refused to forget the hope and joy Germany had accrued along the way.

“Of course it was a game where we all gave it our all not to lose,” Kroos said after the match — the last in a storied career (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We were very close, and that makes it all the more bitter. I think we can all be proud because everyone was able to step it up a notch. I think we can all be proud because we were able to give German football hope again. But we are extremely disappointed because we wanted to go a bit further.

“Right now, the fact that we’re out of the tournament is more important than anything else, because we all had a big goal together. And this dream that we all had has now simply been shattered to some extent. Even if we realize in the next few days that we played a good tournament. It’s extremely bitter.”

That is it right there: finally, Germany had a reason to hope. After years on years of losing faith in the national team and fail miserably in consecutive World Cups, seeing Germany reach the quarterfinals and go blow for blow with a highly impressive Spain side was a glorious change of pace. One cannot feel disappointment without having first experienced hope, and that Germany have finally been able to inspire such hope in a nation so weary and tired of continuous terrible failures speaks volumes for the success this tournament has been for Germany.

Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Germany’s crushing 2-1 loss to Spain? We have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. We have takes on Julian Nagelsmann’s controversial starting XI, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and ideas on how this all fell apart in front of an absolutely electric crowd. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: