World Cup rewind: The Germans are still here
If you haven’t heard, there’s a World Cup going on. We’re here to help, with a daily recap of the biggest news.
Germany played Sweden on Saturday in one of the games of the tournament so far. The defending champions needed a win to ensure they held their fate in their own hands heading into the final round of group games. They delivered, just about.
After Sweden took the lead, Die Mannshcaft looked like they might be heading for their first group stage exit in 80 years. There was a brief increase in intensity following Marco Reus’ equalizer, but a draw would still have left them in a very precarious position.
Enter Toni Kroos. The Real Madrid midfielder has had an uneven tournament, and was particularly bad against Sweden, gifting them the ball in the buildup to their opener, but if his 95th-minute free-kick isn’t the goal of the tournament, it will take something very special to top it.
Elsewhere in the same group, Mexico cruised past South Korea, winning 2-0 to move onto six points and take a big step toward topping the group. They need only one point against Sweden in the final game to finish top and avoid a likely meeting with Brazil in the round of 16.
Belgium were in action in the day’s early game. They dominated Tunisia, winning 5-2, with two goals each from Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku and a fifth from Michy Batshuayi, whose goal came only after some impressive misses.
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Roberto Martinez’s side looked fearsome going forward, but there are still questions about their defending. Martinez also suggested he would rotate his squad heavily for the final group match against England, with Lukaku, Hazard and Dries Mertens all dealing with knocks.
That might not be such a bad thing the way the draw is shaping up. If the group stage concludes as expected, France, Brazil and Germany will end up on the same side of the bracket, while Spain could yet join them pending their and Portugal’s final group matches.
Off the pitch, rumors continue to swirl about Jorge Sampaoli and Argentina. Reports suggest the manager may be relieved of his duties ahead of the team’s final group match against Nigeria on Tuesday, as clear an indication as any of the dysfunction that has hampered Lionel Messi and co.
Sunday’s matches begin in Nizhny Novgorod, where England take on Panama (8 a.m. ET) knowing a win will book their place in the last 16. Senegal play Japan in the second game of the day (11 a.m. ET), while Poland and Colombia conclude the action (2 p.m. ET).