Kroos and Germany respond to previous loss in 4-2 victory over Portugal

Toni Kroos played the full 90 minutes in Germany’s 4-2 win over Portugal in Munich on Saturday. It was a big response from Jogi Löw’s men after a very disappointing opening result to France earlier this week.

Löw didn’t change his tactics or formation much from that 1-0 loss on Tuesday, calling in many questions when Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opening goal just 15 minutes into the match.

Germany answered back with two goals, both own goals by the Portugal backline, late in the first half. They continued to dominate and scored another two goals from Robin Gosens and Kai Havertz.

The questions about the three-man German backline were not a prevalent in this match as they did not allow another goal until late in the match.

Kroos was part of a pretty dominant match from Germany. He had a shot on target and had over 100 touches on the ball, the most of any German player. Defensively, he had four interceptions.

Die Mannschaft had over 12 shots total, with 7 of those being on goal. They also held almost 60% of possession for the entire match.

This is a big win for Kroos’ Germany as they needed one after sustaining an opening loss to start the tournament. Group F is seen as the ‘Group of Death’ in this summer’s event so they need to build up as many points as possible if they hope to advance.

France drew to Hungary 1-1, which puts the French just a point over Germany and Portugal who both hold three points. Kroos and Germany will be back in action when they take on Hungary at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.