Germany midfielder Toni Kroos is confident that the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Spain will not mark the end of his illustrious career.

Kroos, 34, concluded his club career with a victory in the Champions League final, as Real Madrid triumphed over Borussia Dortmund. He has announced that he will retire for good after the Euros, where he aims to lift the trophy with Germany on July 14.

Saturday’s match against Spain, widely considered the best team in the tournament so far, will be a significant challenge for the German squad, but Kroos remains optimistic.

“I don’t expect it to be my last game,” Kroos told reporters on Wednesday at Germany’s base camp in Herzogenaurach. “We have set ourselves the aim to win the tournament.”

As a result, he stated that he is not approaching his 114th cap with “any kind of nostalgia” and emphasized that reaching the quarter-finals is not merely a bonus.

He acknowledged the success of advancing to this stage, especially given the doubts surrounding the team before the home tournament. “There were huge doubts from all sides beforehand. We achieved a certain minimum goal. You can no longer speak of a disaster,” he said.

Kroos came out of international retirement in March and then announced in May that he would end his career after the Euros. He won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and numerous titles with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, where he has played since 2014 and secured five of his six Champions League titles.

Spain has not lost a tournament match against Germany since 1988 and defeated them in both previous knockout matches: the Euro 2008 final and the 2010 World Cup semi-finals