Just Four Things: Germany Vs. Sweden
Credit: Getty Images
Kroos Redemption
All it takes is just one moment, one incident for someone to become either a hero or the villain. Toni Kroos was destined to end the match the latter when he gave away possession that lead to Sweden’s goal. Despite Germany scoring the equalizer almost immediately after the restart, a draw would still find Germany in a precarious position. It was going to be one of those days for Kroos despite his best efforts in the second half.
Then a free-kick was awarded by the edge of the box on the left-flank on 95 minutes. Up stepped Kroos and he blasted the ball in the far post, despite Robin Olsen’s best efforts to get something on it, catching everyone in the box off guard. Germany was reeled in jubilation, but none more so for Kroos who badly needed that after being guilty of Sweden’s goal. He ended the match as a redeemed hero.
It’s still in Germany’s hands. They’re somehow still alive, but their fate also rests on the Mexico-Sweden result. If Germany wins and outscores or matches Sweden, they advance because of this victory. Sweden needs to hope South Korea can salvage something and they beat or draw the Mexicans or at least outscore the Germans themselves if both win.
Sweden (Almost) Like Mexico
Sweden’s approach drew inspiration from how Mexico dealt with Germany. Sweden sat back deep to absorb the German pressure and when the chance arrived, hit them at the break. Despite Germany seemingly learned their lesson when defending counter-attacks as explained above, they still had trouble dealing them.
The counter-attacks almost yielded dividends. Berg perhaps had the best chance of the game other than the goal where he was able to break through the defence during the counter-attack, but was seemingly fouled by Jerome Boateng. The referee or VAR wasn’t interested in taking a deeper look. Those grief moments was quickly forgotten when Ola Toivonen expertly chipped the ball over Neuer and gave the Swedes a shock lead.
But once the second half began, they were always on the backfoot. Even with Jerome Boateng getting sent off on 82 minutes, Sweden still couldn’t regain the grip on the match and needlessly gave away that free-kick that lead to the winner. Just when it seemed it was Germany who was shooting themselves in the foot, it was Sweden in the end that did the shooting to their own foot.
Reus-ing Applause
He missed two major consecutive tournaments due to injury. But finally, Marco Reus announced his arrival at the World Cup. He made it clear on why he deserved to be at this world stage. He was at the focal point of the Germany attack. Doing his best to find ways of getting Germany back in it.
He finally got what he wanted three minutes after the restart. He ran into the box looking to get to the end of a low cross. A touch by Mario Gomez took the ball into the air and Reus did well to readjust his leg to get the ball past the flat-footed Robin Olsen. He was his energetic usual self and this is also what he deserves as one of Germany’s best players.
Questions Still Need To Be Asked
Even though they won, there still should be an enquiry about why Germany has been struggling as of late. Kroos may have bailed out his team, but why do they put themselves on such thin ice? They still get caught out on the counter-attack, the team didn’t look like their chemistry is high enough to perform and the midfield didn’t do their job properly protecting their defenders when Sweden do attack.
It was a hairy situation for Joachim Low and his men. No matter how far Germany goes, they should still investigate after the tournament. Knowing how German football works, they will get to the bottom of it. For now, they need to focus on getting the job done against South Korea.
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