Real Madrid News
Real Madrid veteran names Brazil as the favourites for the World Cup
Real Madrid have several representatives in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. One player who is not participating in the tournament is veteran midfielder Toni Kroos.
The 32-year-old superstar announced his retirement from international football last year following Germany’s elimination from the UEFA Euro 2020.
There had been speculations that Die Mannschaft were trying to convince Kroos to reconsider his retirement and make himself available for the World Cup, but such a thing did not materialise.
Ahead of the World Cup, it was revealed the Real Madrid superstar will be working as a pundit for Magenta TV. And building to the event, Kroos has now revealed who he thinks has the best chance of winning the tournament.
“Brazil are the favourites in my opinion. I see them as a cut above other teams. Behind them, I see teams like France, Spain, Argentina, England, and Germany,” Kroos said (OneFootball h/t RMadridFrance).
Further discussing the competition, Kroos revealed which teams he will be following at the World Cup, saying:
“At the World Cup, I will follow Germany of course and the teams for which my teammates at Real play, so Spain, France, Croatia, Belgium, Uruguay and Brazil.”
Real Madrid have three players in the Brazil squad in Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes. France, too, have three Los Blancos stars in Karim Benzema, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.
They have two stars representing Spain in the form of Dani Carvajal and Marco Asensio while Luka Modric will be captaining the Croatian national team.
Antonio Rudiger is part of the Germany setup while Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard will be taking the field for Belgium and Federico Valverde will represent Uruguay.
Arda Guler’s Real Madrid stint has not gotten off to the start he would have hoped to have given the expectation that preceded the transfer.
Having joined in the summer after Real Madrid outbid their competition to win him over from Fenerbahce for a 20-million-euro fee, buzz was high as the winger was expected to slot into the team quite seamlessly, albeit on a rotational basis.
Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he has been constantly marred by injuries since completing the move.
Reports have stated that after Guler picked up his third injury since his move, Real Madrid have been concerned and want to take things slow with the player to ensure he is fit as soon as possible after an injury to his quadriceps this time.
The Turk is yet to make his competitive debut for the club, and Real Madrid even sacked their medical chief in November, in light of their injury crises since the beginning of the season.
No loan deal for Guler
However, according to Fabrizio Romano in a recent YouTube video, he states that Madrid maintain full trust and patience in the youngster.
Despite his bad luck with injuries, the latest of which he is scheduled to return from after Christmas, the Galacticos have no intention of loaning out Guler to Turkish clubs despite lots of speculation of them doing so of late.
Romano states that Madrid remain firm on not shaking things up too much with the squad, and they want to keep their roster stable, including Arda Guler.
They want to extend their full support and protection to the player as he aims to return to full fitness and finally make his bow for Madrid either by the end of this month or in 2024.
