Germany host France on Tuesday in a key friendly to prepare for next year's World Cup with Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos poised to return to the world champions' engine room.

The 27-year-old missed Friday's goalless draw against England at Wembley with illness, but is back fit and ready to partner Juventus star Sami Khedira in the heart of Germany's midfield.

The Germans are on a 20-match unbeaten run, dating back to their 2-0 defeat by the French in Marseille in the semifinals of the 2016 European Championship.

Germany head coach Joachim Loew will use the friendly against the French in Cologne to experiment and says the result is not important, a notion that Kroos refutes.

"Of course we want to win, the German Football Association has been trying to get us such high-quality opponents on purpose," Kroos said on Monday.

"It's only effective if we treat it like a competitive game."

Kroos left Bayern Munich for Real after helping Germany win the 2014 World Cup, returning from Brazil with an enhanced reputation after a stunning tournament.

He was the man of the match in the astonishing 7-1 semifinal battering of hosts Brazil after scoring two goals in Belo Horizonte and running the attack to devastating effect.

Kroos has the mentality of a winner after lifting the Champions League trophy three times – with Bayern in 2013, and Real Madrid in 2016 and 2017.