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Germany vs Sweden |
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|---|---|---|
2018 FIFA World Cup, Group F |
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| Fisht Stadium, Sochi | ||
| Germany | Sweden | |
| 2 | SCORE | 1 |
| 18 | Shots | 7 |
| 8 | Corners | 3 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 1 | Reds Cards | 0 |
Germany have come back from the precipice of elimination to pull off an utterly extraordinary 2-1 victory over Sweden in Sochi.
Down a man and with the last moments of stoppage time ticking away, Toni Kroos has scored a goal of such sheer and utter brilliance that only a truly world class player with ice in their veins could have finished off the shot that has kept his country’s world cup defence alive.
Sweden will feel very much aggrieved, having not only survived an opening barrage of German attack to take the lead, and having had a legitimate early penalty call not even reviewed.
Germany owned the second half though, an early equaliser to Marcos Reus bringing the Germans right back into the contest. However, there was another twist in the tale, with Jerome Boateng seeing red as he received a second yellow in the 82nd minute, and Germany chasing a result down a man.
Kroos, who had earlier given Sweden the opener with lost possession in the midfield, stepped up, and saved his country, and Germany will face South Korea with their own fate in their own hands.
A classic in Sochi.
Final score
Germany 2
Sweden 1
We come to a must win match for one of these Group F teams, as the still reigning world champions Germany take on Sweden, but it’s not the team that was expected to already be in the must-win position. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 4am AEST.
Germany have a pretty good record against the Swedes, having gone 11-straight matches without defeat (5 wins, 6 draws).
Of course, Germany first-upng off a first up loss that took every single person who has ever heard of football and Germany by surprise. Can much be read into Germany’s first up loss to Mexico? Yes, there can.
For starters, Germany had 26 shots on goal. Yes, 26, count ’em. That is simply unheard of to attack a goal that much and come away with nothing unless you’re Arsenal.
Now of those 26 shots, 9 were on target. If you have 9 shots on target, you would normally anticipate that you’re going to score goals. Or at the very least, a goal. But here we are, Germany were held scoreless, and lost the match.
And those shots don’t factor in the 8 corners and 67% possession the Germans enjoyed. Long and short of it is that Germany dominated their opening match, and will feel rightly aggrieved they don’t already have 3 points to their name.
So it is questionable that Joachim Loew will be pressing any panic buttons.
Sweden on the other hand had a mere 15 shots on goal, only 4 of which were on target, and they relied on a penalty to do the job against South Korea. So while there are statistics, damn statistics, and lies, the statistics going into this match say that Germany are the form team, and Sweden would be mindful of lifting their game.
Sweden simply did not have the firepower up front to trouble their opponent, so it is difficult to see them troubling a much better credentialed and tactically superior German defence.
Also expect a big display from Mesut Ozil. I do not know what that guy has done to those in the media and his fanbase, but I have never seen someone so talented cop so much abuse for a perceived lack of effort and energy. The man is a once in a generation player, and he was statistically one of the best players on the park against Mexico. He simply could not have done anymore to lift his country over the line.
He will most likely step up a level even more, and take out his frustration on an unsuspecting Swedish outfit.
Prediction
Germany, historically, always make the knockout round, regardless of form, so history says they will put the cleaners through Sweden and get their World Cup defence back on track.
Germany 2 – Sweden 0.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Group E match from 4am (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
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