Defending champions Germany avoided a humiliating exit from the tournament last night, as they came back from behind to beat Sweden, 2-1 in a thrilling Group-F match to revive their hopes of securing a place in the knock-out stage.
Marco Reus gave Germany a lifeline in the second half when he cancelled out Ola Toivonen’s 32nd minute strike. The holders were hanging by the thread when Jerome Boateng was sent off, but Toni Kroos hit a free-kick in the final minute of injury-time giving Germany hopes of becoming the first side to retain the World Cup since 1962.
In the other Pool-F game, Mexico defeated South Korea, 2-1 to strengthen their chances of sealing a place in the Round-of-16. In Group-G, Belgium crushed Tunisia, 5-2 to all but book a place in the pre-quarterfinals. Romelu Lukaku, who netted a brace along with Eden Hazard, joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the leading goal scorer of the tournament with 4 goals, and also became Belgium’s all-time top scorer in major tournaments. Today, England will face Panama in Pool-G, with Japan battling it out against Senegal, and Poland playing Colombia in Group-H.