Sweden looks to bounce back
SWEDEN coach Janne Andersson must find a way to pick up his deflated players following their devastating loss to Germany in a World Cup Group F that stands tantalisingly poised.
Sweden was on course for the last 16 until Toni Kroos stepped up with a wonderful winner in the fifth minute of injury time to rescue the reigning champion 2-1 in a thriller.
It left Group F on a knifeedge going into the final round of games tonight (midnight), when Sweden faces Mexico in Yekaterinburg while at the same time Germany plays South Korea in Kazan.
Mexico has six points and one foot in the knockout rounds, with Germany and the Swedes on three points and with the same goal difference and having scored the same number.
Sweden will progress if it betters Germany’s result.
Several Sweden players were left prone, such was the late, excruciating nature of the defeat to Germany.
Andersson said: “The whole group is still alive so we will have to lick our wounds and come back for the last game.”
The 55-year-old, who accused Germany’s backroom staff of “rubbing it in our faces”, also needs to deal with the delicate fallout surrounding his winger Jimmy Durmaz.
Durmaz, born in Sweden to Assyrian parents who emigrated from Turkey, was subjected to racial hatred and death threats on social media for giving away the foul that led to Kroos’s late winner.
The 29-year-old was moved to read out a statement to reporters at the team’s Black Sea coast base in Gelendzhik on Sunday, saying of the abuse: “Who the hell does such things? It is completely unacceptable.”
The biggest problem for Mexico, who will have the majority of the Yekaterinburg Arena behind it tonight, will be complacency.
A deserved 1-0 victory over Germany was followed by a 2-1 win against the Koreans to put it in control of the group, but it still needs a point to make sure of reaching the knockout rounds.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa said Mexico was determined to secure the result it needed to make sure of top spot, revealing the squad was fired by criticism they received from home fans before arriving in Russia.
The Mexicans were booed during a friendly win over at the Mexico v Sweden (midnight) South Korea v Germany (midnight) Switzerland v Costa Rica (4am) Serbia v Brazil (4am) Scotland Stadium.
Several members of the squad, including Ochoa, were also lambasted for being at a farewell party attended by about 30 prostitutes.
“We always knew we would have to fight all the way to the last game,” he said.
“We remember everything this squad has been through. We haven’t forgotten hearing the boos at the Azteca, and that has strengthened us mentally.”
West Ham United striker Javier Hernandez became the first Mexican player to score 50 goals for his country — in Azteca 104 appearances — with his strike against South Korea.
As West Ham fans know well, the 30-year-old can be hit and miss, yet ‘Chicharito’ seems to reserve his best performances for the green of Mexico.
“He’s a great goalscorer, but offers a lot more than that,” Mexico teammate Miguel Layun said.
“He’s an incredibly dynamic player. He makes four or five runs when others might just make one.
“And he’s always in the right place at the right time,” the Porto defender told FIFA.com.