Germany, despite being a man down snatched a last-gasp victory against Sweden to keep their World Cup alive.
Germany scored in the 95th minute to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against a battling the Swedish side, despite having had a man sent off.
Germany realistically had to win to remain in the World Cup as a loss would see them straight out and a draw would see them three points behind Sweden, with Sweden facing Mexico in their last game who would have already qualified. Sweden took the lead through an excellent Ola Toivonen goal as Claesson played a delightful ball in, Toivonen took a touch on his chest and then lifted the ball over an onrushing Manuel Neuer.
Germany equalised early in the second half through a Marco Reus goal, before having Jerome Boateng sent off for a second yellow card offence, they then won the game in the final minute with a free kick from Kroos. The Real Madrid midfielder shifted the ball into Reus and fired it into the far corner from his lay off.
This gives Germany a great chance of qualifying as they can defeat South Korea in their final game and this will ensure their progression.
Sweden can still qualify if they better Germany's result against South Korea or defeat Mexico and qualify ahead of them on goal difference.
Five things we learned from the match:
Last-gasp win
Goals don't come much later than Toni Kroos' came in this one. Germany could forever remember this 95th-minute winner, as it essentially kept them in the World Cup. Germany snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and if they were to win the World Cup, that goal would be seen as the turning point, not to mention the fact that it was also stunning.
Sweden will forever remember this game as the day that they almost knocked Germany out of the World Cup, and it really was close, only the last minute goal by Kroos saved the Germans. Sweden's performance will long stay in people's memories and will send a message to other teams that sitting in and counter-attacking really is effective, as Mexico and Sweden both have shown.
German performance
The term 'papering over the cracks' has been used and Germany will surely know that they need to improve if they want to win the World Cup. The Germans lost to Mexico and scraped a victory against Sweden, assuming they do qualify for the next round, Germany will need to play much better to stand any chance of progressing through the knockout rounds.
Boateng's nightmare game
Jerome Boating will not need to be told that he had a shocking game, he was all over the place throughout the match. He could have given a penalty away in the first half and he was sent off in the second half. Once his suspension is served Boateng will need to earn back his manager's trust if he wants to play any further part in the World Cup. We have seen two shaky defensive performances by the Germans and he was right at the centre of them.
It is not over for Sweden
Although Sweden lost today and they now face a struggle to qualify, it is not over for them. Sweden go into the final game knowing that they need to beat Mexico convincingly in order to progress. The likelihood is that their biggest challenge will be picking themselves up from this defeat, but if they can do that and they can pull together and perform as they did tonight, then they definitely stand a chance.
http://www.euronews.com/2018/06/23/world-cup-live-germany-vs-sweden
