Reviews

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.

Toni Kroos Review:

At first glance, This card may look bang average, Maybe, worse than bang average with a price tag of roughly 250k. But this card plays like a De Bruyne in game with 5 star 5 star. He is always in position and his passing is just top tier, His long shots also can be a pro about this card as they are very consistent. When I played with him, he feels a bit chunky ingame but that is meant in a positve way as he barely gets bodied/tackled off the ball, Only downside I can see when using this card is the pace and the agility of this card

If this card was on the market he would easily be over 500k in my humble opinion, one of the best value SBCs this year if not the best. Used him for awhile as a get forward CM but switched him to deep-lying playmaker who can go forward in a 4-2-3-1 and he's been incredible. Passing and long shots are second to none for non-icon CM's and 5* 5* just puts the cherry on top. Doesn't have high agility or balance but his Reactions (94), Ball Control (92), Composure (92), and 5 star skill moves have gotten me out of countless tight situations and he can play inch perfect passes with people draped over him.

The one quip I have with him is his less than stellar defending and presence. He tends to get turned inside out by quick players and has very low aggression and jumping. His interceptions are incredible but playing against people who like to strafe dribble a lot he is a liability. Much better utilized as a get forward or free roaming midfielder.

Overall very worth the 260k price tag especially with all the fodder being thrown around at the moment. A very unique player and will not let you down going forward

Did him to have a great box to box, but thats not what I got. He's just not good :( His pace is not the probleM, hunter can fix that. His dribbling is super bad. Can not turn for his life, really sluggish with ball on feet. Only way to play him is when he gets the ball, you have to pass right away. DONT DO THIS SBC, NOT WORTH IT.