In their last four friendly matches, Germany pulled off one victory, lost twice and drew one game.

"We have a very good atmosphere in the team. We understand that the last matches were not our best games, but we talk a lot about this World Cup, we are happy that it begins. We hope to prove ourselves at the tournament. We want Germany to become the champion, we all work for the same result," the 28-year-old midfielder told reporters.

Germany have been drawn in Group F and will play Mexico at Moscow's Luzhniki arena on Sunday, before taking on Sweden in Sochi on June 23 and South Korea in Kazan on June 27.

"At this tournament, the will to win is very important, each player must believe in himself... This is what each of us works at individually," Kroos said.

Russia's first-ever FIFA World Cup will get underway at 6:00 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday with the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Moscow's 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium.