Kroos finishes top of Castrol standings

Germany ended Sunday night holding the golden trophy in their hands at the Maracana and it seems only fitting that one of their FIFA World Cup™ winners should have finished the tournament at the top of the Castrol Index too.

Toni Kroos is the man in question and his success is a reflection of his impressive body of work over Germany’s seven-match road to glory. Germany were the team with most passes completed at Brazil 2014 – a total of 4,157 – and Kroos’ own individual tally of 537 was surpassed by only one player, his team-mate Philipp Lahm (562).

The 24-year-old may have shone more brightly in other games – the opening victory over Portugal and semi-final rout of Brazil stand out – but on Final night his typically precise set-piece delivery created Germany’s best chance of normal time when Benedikt Howedes headed his corner against the post just before the break. Overall he completed 94 of 114 passes attempted in the eventual 1-0 triumph over Argentina – a number bettered only by Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lahm – and ran 14.3km. Again, only two players – the excellent Schweinsteiger and Thomas Muller – posted higher totals.