Football

World Cup 2022: Toni Kroos hails ‘incredible’ France defender as ‘the complete package’

World Cup 2022: Toni Kroos hails ‘incredible’ France defender as ‘the complete package’

Toni Kroos has described France star and his former club teammate Raphael Varane as the ‘complete package’ ahead of the 2022 World Cup final.

Varane will be lining out for Didier Deschamps’ side in Sunday’s game against Argentina in Qatar. The centre-back played alongside Kroos for several years at Real Madrid before his switch to Manchester United.

France defender is ‘the complete package’

Varane missed France’s 2022 World Cup opener against Australia as he recovered from a hamstring injury, but has since been a regular for his country on the road to the final.

And his former teammate Kroos has praised the ‘incredible’ centre-back ahead of the Argentina clash, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“He’s incredibly fast,” said Kroos. “Really one of the fastest team-mates, I would even say. There were a few quick ones. He’s really incredible. I never really saw anyone run away from him in our time here.

“He was a solid pillar for us alongside (Sergio) Ramos for many years. He did an outstanding job and is really the complete package.”

Kroos: Varane is ‘highly awkward to play against’

Kroos added that while Varane doesn’t exactly perform ‘miracles with the ball,’ he is extremely awkward to play against. France have kept just one clean sheet in the tournament so far, with that shutout coming against Morocco in the semi-final.

But Varane has been impressing on the pitch, with his defensive teammates and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris also performing admirably.

The France defender is set to come up against the likes of Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez in Sunday’s final. Global icon Messi sits joint-top of the scoring charts in Qatar with five, while young star Alvarez is just one behind him on four.

The Manchester City striker netted twice in the semi-final victory over Croatia, also scoring in the group stage win over Poland and the round of 16 win against Australia.

Messi found the net twice in the group stages, before scoring in the round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final. But Kroos is confident that such forwards will find it difficult to get past Varane in the highly-anticipated final.

“He doesn’t do miracles with the ball but is a highly awkward defender to play against,” said Kroos. “You can’t beat him in the air and, as I said, he’s incredibly fast, so you can’t run away from him either. He’s a good man.”

France

France defender enjoying fine run of form

As mentioned, Varane was not deemed fit enough by Deschamps to start the World Cup opener, with the manager instead opting for Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate.

The boss has chopped and changed between Konate and Upamecano in the games since that opener, with Varane a regular at the back throughout the tournament.

The centre-back has had somewhat of a start-stop time since joining Man United in the summer of 2021. Injuries have caused him several setbacks, but the defender’s talent has been on show when he has been free from injury.

The centre-back has been limited to 10 Premier League appearances this season, but has formed a strong partnership with Lisandro Martinez when fit. The duo will come face to face in Sunday’s final in Qatar.


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