Player Review

Toni Kroos is one of the players that never quite shines in FIFA like he does in real life. However, every few months or years EA releases a Kroos card that at least makes me look at it in an attempt to make Kroos one of the players on my own team that does not disappoint in game. This year, Winter Wildcards has been a good year for my squad. While I haven't been able to afford WW Mendy quite yet, I did get my hands on Kroos thanks to the SBC! Aaaaaand...I'm not disappointed!

I. My Squad

As you can see, I am quite fond of playing with a more bullish Striker. I've played around with Benzema, Ronaldo and POTM Füllkrug, but so far, this Squad has been my best try yet. Kroos in this does not have to fulfill a role in the offense, since that is quite stacked in the front with players. With Bellingham's H/H workrate, Kroos can sit back and do what he does best in real life - pass the ball exactly where it needs to go, and make sure he defends what he can.

II. Kroos Stats

While Kroos' passing is always his most excitable stat, this time his unusually high pace sticks out. On base, he comes with 83 Acc and 78 Speed. Pairing that with the Shadow Chemistry style gets you a nifty 91 Acc and 86 Speed, which compared to his measly 52 base speed stat is great. Also boasting an overall 85 in shooting and a 86 in dribbling (78 Agility) this card becomes an allrounder on the field. While Shadow is the obvious chemistry style to go for, I will most likely also experiment with Anchor and Engine for fun. Shadow however makes Kroos somehow a ballgorging defensive Mastodon instead of the liability he usually is.

III. Behavior

With Shadow, Kroos gets one thing right - Interceptions. A 98! Interception stat really made me grin from ear to ear in Rivals, while Kroos was catching Passes left and right and distributing them forward with Precision. I set him up to stay behind a bit, so he does not really make that much of an impact in the box. But on corners, Kroos is really doing great with his 92 Long Passing, 91 Crossing and 89 curve. Also, his decent to high Dribbling means he is surprisingly hard to get off the ball. Yes, he has sub 80 agility, but you'll be surprised to notice his qualities in defending the ball while carrying it. This card will not always be a source of assists and goals, but don't let that fool you - it just feels right. I've played multiple players in this position, including POTM Valverde early, Goretzka, even Gerrard- all of them felt way worse than this Kroos version. Something about him just clicks on the field.

IV. Weaknesses

Although Kroos Defense stats are quite high, he remains not the best option against stronger and heavier players defensively. With tackles around 85 average and 80 something defensive awareness he seems to do great, but 67 aggression make him not be as close to the man as you sometimes want. Although he makes that up with pass interceptions, this card won't fair as well against players that like to dribble a lot. 80 Strength is also not quite enough to make the likes of Haaland, Ronalde et al budge to Kroos' might like my Rüdiger does.

V. Conclusion

For people that seek stability in their midfield, Kroos is the man. I've found playing him weird at first, because it seemed like he wasn't contributing as much as a 91 card should - but when it mattered, he was always in the right position, got the right pass, and made sure he was an impact by covering options. This card is something I can recommend, for me a definite 9/10.