10-man Germany survive World Cup exit after late win over Sweden

Defending champions Germany’s World Cup survival hopes took a boost after a 2-1 win against Sweden on Saturday.

Karzan Sulaivany 2018/06/23 19:50

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ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Defending champions Germany’s World Cup survival hopes took a boost after a 2-1 win against Sweden in Group F of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia on Saturday.

Sweden took a shock lead against the run of play through Ola Toivonen after 32 minutes following a flurry of half-chances for Germany.

However, Marco Reus responded for the Germans minutes after the start of the second-half.

Germany had defender Jerome Boateng sent off for a second bookable offense before midfielder Toni Kroos scored a sublime freekick deep into stoppage time to give the Germans a crucial win.

Germany plays South Korea on June 27 needing a win to progress while Sweden faces Mexico.

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak (right) presents Germany's defender Jerome Boateng (left) with a red card during the 2018 World Cup Group F football match between Germany and Sweden at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, on June 23, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Odd Andersen)

Elsewhere in Group F, Mexico defeated South Korea 2-1 as they are on the verge of sealing a spot in the knockout stages of the competition.

Carlos Vela scored the first goal of the match after converting a 26th-minute penalty before Javier Hernandez made it two on 66 minutes.

Korea’s Heung-Min Son scored a stunning late goal in second-half stoppage time, a contender for goal of the tournament, but it proved only to be a consolation as they face elimination from the World Cup.

Mexico's forward Javier Hernandez (left) celebrates scoring their second goal as South Korea's defender Jang Hyun-soo (right) reacts during the 2018 World Cup Group F football match between South Korea and Mexico at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-On-Don, Russia, on June 23, 2018. (AFP/Pascal Guyot)

Meanwhile, in Group G action, a rampant Belgium side continued to solidify their status as one of the favorites to win the tournament with a 5-2 win over Tunisia at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.

Talisman Eden Hazard opened the scoring in the sixth minute, calmly converting a penalty which he had won.

Power forward Romelu Lukaku added two more, his third and fourth of the tournament, in between a Tunisia goal scored by Dylan Bronn.

Belgium continued their dominance in the second-half with Hazard grabbing his second of the match in the 51st minute before substitute Michy Batshuayi made it five in the 90th.

Tunisia would eventually score one more through Wahbi Khazri, but it was only a consolation as they are on the brink of elimination from the tournament. An England win against Panama on Sunday will seal Tunisia’s fate.

Belgium’s captain Eden Hazard celebrates his second goal with striker Romelu Lukaku during the 2018 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Tunisia at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on June 23, 2018. (Photo: AFP/Yuri Cortez)

The 2018 FIFA World Cup takes place between June 14 and July 15 with 32 teams from five different confederations competing.

The final will be played on July 15 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at 6:00 p.m. Erbil time.

So far, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Peru, and Costa Rica have been eliminated from the tournament.

The nations who have advanced to the Round of 16 are Russia, Uruguay, France, Croatia, and Belgium.