Germany rescue World Cup hopes with dramatic Kroos winner

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(180623) -- SOCHI, June 23, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Sebastian Larsson (R) of Sweden vies with Toni Kroos of Germany during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group F match between Germany and Sweden in Sochi, Russia, June 23, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

SOCHI, Russia, June 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Toni Kroos rescued Germany’s World
Cup hopes in dramatic fashion on Saturday, curling in a stunning free-kick
deep into injury time to seal a 2-1 win against Sweden.

Germany’s late, late show keeps Joachim Loew’s on course to be the first
team to retain the title in 56 years but their fate is still not entirely in
their own hands.

The defending champions were in desperate trouble when Ola Toivonen lifted
the ball over Manuel Neuer to put the Swedes ahead in the first half in Sochi
after Kroos gave the ball away.

Germany, looking far sharper than they did in their opening defeat against
Mexico, piled forward and eventually earned their reward when Marco Reus
reacted quickly to turn the ball in shortly after the interval.

Despite incessant pressure, Loew’s men could not find the goal they craved
as time ticked away and Germany’s task was made more difficult when key
defender Jerome Boateng was sent off in the 82nd minute for a second yellow
card.

But Kroos had other ideas, stepping up in the 95th minute to curl a free-
kick from the left edge of the penalty area into the top corner, beating the
despairing dive of Robin Olsen, who had been outstanding in the Swedish goal.

“We never lost hope. I think there was a bit of luck there with the goal
scored in stoppage time, but it was a result of our belief in ourselves,”
said Loew. “Despite the adversity, the team kept their cool and turned it
around.”

Germany — level with Sweden on three points, with Mexico on six points —
must now beat South Korea in Kazan on Wednesday and hope the other result in
Group F goes their way.

– Mexico win –

Mexico showed that their shock defeat of Germany last weekend was no fluke
with a 2-1 defeat of South Korea in Rostov-on-Don.

West Ham striker Javier Hernandez grabbed his 50th international goal while
Los Angeles FC forward Carlos Vela was also on target from the penalty spot.

South Korea scored a late consolation strike from Tottenham’s Son Heung-
min, but it was too little, too late for the Asian giants, who desperately
needed a victory after losing to Sweden in their opening game.

“Sometimes against teams that have less of a footballing tradition than the
biggest nations, you can tend to rest on your laurels and lose
concentration,” said Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

“But it was a deserved victory. We are very happy and we share that with
the whole of the country.”

– Lukaku, Hazard strike –

In the first game of the day, Belgium produced an imperious display to
overwhelm Tunisia, with Premier League stars Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard
scoring two apiece in a 5-2 rout at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium.

The one-sided victory cemented Belgium’s place at the top of Group G and
all but guaranteed their place in the knockout rounds, with just one group
game, against England, remaining.

Manchester United striker Lukaku took his goals tally to the tournament to
four as the Red Devils carved open Tunisia’s defence with an impressive
attacking display.

Dylan Bronn and captain Wahbi Khazri grabbed consolation goals for Tunisia,
who now face almost certain elimination.

Belgium and England will qualify for the last 16 on Sunday if England
defeat Panama in Nizhny Novgorod.

As the fallout from Friday’s politically charged clash between Switzerland
and Serbia rumbled, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Swiss
players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri over their pro-Kosovo goal
celebrations.

FIFA is also probing Serbian national team Mladen Krstajic for alleged
statements made after the game.

Both Xhaka and Shaqiri, who have roots in Kosovo, a former province of
Serbia that has declared independence in a move not recognised by Belgrade,
celebrated their goals in the 2-1 win by making a gesture representing the
Albanian flag.

Disciplinary proceedings have also been opened against the Serbian FA for
crowd disturbances and the display of political and offensive messages by
Serbian fans, world football’s governing body said in a statement.

Krstajic demanded German match referee Felix Brych be tried as a war
criminal in The Hague after failing to award his team a penalty.

“I wouldn’t give him either a yellow or red card, I would send him to The
Hague,” he said. “Then they could put him on trial, like they did to us.” The
now-defunct Hague-based International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia was a UN body that prosecutes the perpetrators of war crimes
committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.