Germany left everything to the last minute Saturday, scoring in the 95th minute to secure a 2-1 victory over Sweden, avoiding what could have been an embarrassing elimination from the World Cup in the group stage.
Germany left everything to the last minute Saturday, scoring in the 95th minute to secure a 2-1 victory over Sweden, avoiding what could have been an embarrassing elimination from the World Cup in the group stage.
The Germans felt disaster coming when Ola Toinoven scored the first goal in the 32nd minute, giving the Swedes a 1-0 lead by half time. To Germany's relief, Marco Reus scored three minutes into the second half off a cross from the left by Timo Werner, giving his teammates the jolt of energy and confidence they needed.
Germany soon took control of the match, achieving nearly 80 percent possession of the ball and finding several clear chances to score, although the Swedish defense held the line.
Even though Jerome Boateng received a red card in the 83rd minute, the Germans continued to play as one would expect from the former World Cup champions. In the 89th minute, Germany's Mario Gomez was close to scoring with a superb header that was deflected by keeper Robin Olsen.
It wasn't until the 95th minute that Germany sealed their 2-1 victory with a free kick by Toni Kroos from the left of the box, beautifully curling the ball into the far corner of the net.
Watch the stunning Toni Kroos goal and other highlights of the match here:
Sweden and Germany are now tied in Group F with three points each, while Mexico is in first place with six points and South Korea is last with zero points.
Germany’s Sunday night hero Kroos, after the match, said his last-gasp winner to seal a dramatic 2-1 win for Germany over Sweden made amends for his earlier mistake and kept the holders' World Cup dreams alive.
“Of course, the first goal (by Sweden) was my fault. When you put in 400 passes in a game, then one or two won't go where they should. Now we have to recover and we don't have much time before we have to beat Korea, when we have to play convincingly,” Kross added.
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