KROOS GOES FROM ZERO TO HERO FOR GERMANY
Toni relieved to make amends for mistake that put Germans in trouble
SOCHI: Toni Kroos said his last-gasp winner to seal a dramatic 2-1 win for Germany over Sweden made amends for his earlier mistake and kept the holders’ World Cup dreams alive.
Kroos’ mistimed pass led to Ola Toivonen’s first-half goal for Sweden.
However, Germany clawed their way back in Sochi with Marco Reus netting early in the second half before Kroos swung in a free-kick in the fifth minute of added time on Saturday.
Kroos’ rescue act is a huge lift to a side who saw Jerome Boateng sent off late on.
“Of course, the first goal (by Sweden) was my fault. When you put in 400 passes in a game, then one or two won’t go where they should,” said Kroos.
After losing their opening match to Mexico, Germany must now beat South Korea in Kazan on Wednesday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout phase from Group F and hope Sweden do not achieve a better result against Mexico.
“Now we have to recover and we don’t have much time before we have to beat Korea, when we have to play convincingly,” said Kroos.
Kroos took a thinly-veiled dig at the German media and former players who had been sharply critical of the team over the last six days.
“We were criticised a lot, justifiably so in part, and a lot of people in Germany would have been pleased if we had gone out today,” said Kroos, who admitted there is still room for improvement.
“Overall, we once again had phases where we played really well and didn’t use our chances.”
Germany coach Joachim Loew said his team were rewarded for not losing their nerve at the most critical moment.
“We never lost hope. I think there was a bit of luck there with the goal scored in stoppage time, but it was a result of our belief in ourselves,” said Loew.
“Despite the adversity, the team kept their cool and turned it around.”
There is still no guarantee that they will avoid the fate of the last two World Cup holders, with Spain four years ago and Italy in 2010 both being knocked out in the group stage.
Not since 1938 have Germany been eliminated in the first round.
However, this result will provide an almighty boost to them and is a hammer blow to Sweden, who will face Mexico in their last match with all still to play for.
Reus, whose goal sparked Germany’s fight back at the start of the second-half, said:
“Toni’s shot, what can you say about that?” said Reus.
“At this World Cup, a lot of goals have come at the end (of games) and today luck was on our side. — AFP