Toni Kroos plays 102 balls against Scotland, 101 of which reach their destination. He is the master of the process and the centre of the German game – also because he has developed further in some areas compared to previous tournaments shortly before the end of his career.
In the world press reports on the opening match of the European Championship and in the TV rounds with the all-knowing old internationals, this moment in the 48th minute was probably rarely, if ever, mentioned: a bad pass without consequences, a quick and fleeting event, apparently just an atom in the football universe. But this bad pass was in fact an event that momentarily suspended the laws of physics and caused the incessant expansion of the universe to pause. It was the exception to the rule that had until then been seen as essentially unchangeable.