Germany came back from the dead to win this. At the brink of an exit at halftime, Marco Reus equalised early in the second half but Toni Kroos stole the show with a stunning free-kick to keep Germany’s World Cup hopes alive. Sweden face an uphill task against group toppers Mexico. Germany take on South Korea in their final group stage match in Group F. 


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Follow the live match updates:


Germany 2-1 Sweden!


Full-time!


90+5 minute: GOAL!! Tony Kroos curls a stunner as a diving Robin Olsen fails to get a touch to it. 


90+2 minute: MISS! Germany's Brandt shoots a rocket into the Sweden goal but it hits the post. 


5 minutes of Stoppage time!


89 minute:  Substitution for Sweden. Thelin in for Berg. 


88 minute: SAVE!!! Robin Olsen makes a significant save as he taps Gomez's header away. 


87 minute: Substitution for Germany. Brandt replaces Hector.  


4 minutes to go! 


82 minute: RED CARD!! Jerome Boateng gets sent off after a challenge. He is the 7th player to get a red card at a World cup in the history of German football.   


76 minute:  SAVED!  Forsberg attempts a long-range shot but Neuer makes a save.  


72 minute:  That was close! Timo Werner sprints into the box from the left but his cross is tipped away by the goalkeeper. 


71 minute: Yellow card! Germany's Jerome Boateng gets a yellow card. 


Possession


Germany- 76 percent


Sweden- 24 percent


63 minute: The Germans are pushing hard, not allowing Sweden to get past their half. Toni Kroos attempts a shot from distance, the ball gets deflected off a Sweden player. Corner to Germany. 


56 minute: Germany's Jonas Hector finds space for a shot in the box but Sweden's goalkeeper saves it. That was close!


53 minute: Yellow card!  Sweden's Albin Ekdal gets booked for a challenge on Thomas Muller. 


51 minute:  Germany look much better in the second-half as they keep the Sweden goalkeeper busy with their quick passes.  


Germany 1-1 Sweden!


48  minute: GOAL!! Marco Reus scores. The defending champions are back into the game. What a match this is turning out to be. 


Second-half is underway


Sweden 1-0 Germany!


HALF-TIME!


2 minutes of Stoppage time!


43 minute: Germany's Boateng attempts a shot from distance but hits it wide.


39 minute:  Germany are pushing hard but Sweden threaten to score another on the counter.


Sweden 1-0 Germany!


32 minute: GOAL!!! Ola Toivonen chips the ball into the German goal. Germany on the brink of the exit. 


31 minute: Substitution for Germany. Guendogan in for Sebastian Rudy. 


29 minute: Germany still play with a man down, as Sebastian Rudy does not look comfortable on the sidelines. 


27 minute: Sweden try and create space in the final-third but the ball gets cleared. Corner for Sweden. 


24 minute:  Sebastian Rudy goes down after he gets clattered on the face. leaves the pitch for a while. 


23 minute: Corner for Germany. The ball gets cleared by the Sweden defenders. 


18 minute: Germany's Sebastian Rudy attempts a shot from distance but hits it wide. Germans are up and attacking here. 


14 minute: Sweden's Marcus Berg goes down in the German box, Referee calls for play-on. 


7 minute: Julian Draxler makes a brilliant cross into the Sweden penalty box but fails to find a teammate. That was close.  


6 minute:  Sweden's Emil Forsberg tries to create space in the final third but he is cramped for by the German defenders.  


3 minute: Germany's Timo Werner heads the ball to Julian Draxler in the middle, the latter fires it at the goal but the ball gets blocked by Andreas Granqvist. Great start for Germany. 


Kick-off


Lineups


Germany XI: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Antonio Rudiger, Jerome Boateng, Jonas Hector; Sebastian Rudy, Toni Kroos; Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, Julian Draxler; Timo Werner.


Sweden XI: Robin Olsen; Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist, Ludwig Augustinsson; Viktor Claesson, Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg; Ola Toivonen, Marcus Berg.


The last two defending champions had bowed out in the group stages, Germany who are under massive pressure would look to change that. There were a lot of talks on dropping stalwarts like Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira after fared poorly in their opening match against Mexico. 


Germany full squad:


Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona/ESP), Kevin Trapp (PSG/FRA)


Defenders: Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin), Jonas Hector (Cologne), Matthias Ginter (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich), Niklas Suele (Bayern Munich), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/ENG), Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)


Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Juventus/ITA), Julian Draxler (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid/ESP), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal/ENG), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich), Sebastian Rudy (Bayern Munich), Julian Brandt (Bayer Leverkusen), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City/ENG), Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)


Forwards: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig), Mario Gomez (VfB Stuttgart)


Sweden Full squad: 


Goalkeepers - Robin Olsen, Karl-Johan Johnsson.


Defenders - Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist, Martin Olsson, Ludwig Augustinsson, Filip Helander, Emil Krafth, Pontus Jansson.


Midfielders - Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg, Gustav Svensson, Oscar Hiljemark, Viktor Claesson, Marcus Rohden, Jimmy Durmaz.


Forwards - Marcus Berg, Ola Toivonen, John Guidetti, Isaac Kiese-Thelin