Toni Kroos was born to pass a football.
Germany sauntered to a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland, on Tuesday evening, to top their Euro 2016 group.
Joachim Low’s side should have scored more than one but Matt McGovern was in ‘Thou Shalt Not Pass’ mode. He let one slip by but kept another seven or eight out with a string of impressive saves.
Northern Ireland huffed and puffed somewhat but could not get their foot on the ball and stroke it about with ease.
Such was Germany’s dominance that two of their midfielders finished with the sort of statistics their opponents could only dream of.
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil made 63 passes and had a pass accuracy of 98.4% during the game, as just one pass missed its intended recipient. It is the new tournament benchmark for players who made over 50 passes or more in a single game.
But Ozil wasn’t the only pass-happy player on the pitch. Toni Kross passed more than his teammate. A lot more.
In fact, Kroos made more passes than the entire Northern Irish team while putting together a completion rate of 92%.
Toni Kroos completed MORE passes (111) than the ENTIRE #NIR side (105).
That's insane! pic.twitter.com/210ZP6TZto
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 21, 2016
The Green and White Army supporters won’t care a jot as they are confirmed for the knockout stages. They should find out their second round opponents later this evening.
