South Korea 2-0 Germany: World Cup highlights and recap

South Korea beat Germany 2-0 in the World Cup on Wednesday, June 27. Here are all the highlights from the match.

After their dramatic late win against Sweden in the last match, a result that was supposed to be the turning point in their World Cul, Germany lost 2-0 to South Korea on Wednesday to seal the nation’s first group-stage exit since 1938.

Joachim Low made more changes to his starting XI after their last-minute win against Sweden. Mesut Ozil was returned to the lineup along with Sami Khedira and a fit-again Mats Hummels, while Niklas Sule and Leon Goretzka made their first starts of the tournament in a 4-3-3.

The changes didn’t produce the desired effect early on, with Germany’s attack once again slow and disjointed, struggling to break down a South Korean back line that had looked fragile in their last game against Mexico, a 2-0 loss.

The only notable goalmouth incident in the first half came in the 19th minute, when Manuel Neuer spilled Woo-young Jung’s free-kick into the path of Heung-min Son. The Germany keeper was able to recover, however, just about punching the ball away with Son closing in.

Things didn’t improve much for the Germans after the break either, and after Sweden took the lead against Mexico in the other game in the group, they needed a goal to advance to the round of 16.

Low turned, once more, to Mario Gomez, with Timo Werner sliding out wide, and while the forward provided a useful focal point, and got on the end of a couple of crosses, he didn’t force Korean keeper Cho Hyun-woo into any saves of note.

Germany’s best chance of the half fell to, of all people, Mats Hummels, who misplayed his header horribly when wide open six yards out from goal. The ball bounced off his shoulder and went harmlessly high and wide.

With the match entering six minutes of stoppage time, South Korea won a corner Germany failed to clear, before the ball fell to Kim Young-gwon, who finished easily from five yards. After a VAR review for offside, the goal stood.

South Korea added one more as time expired, Son tapping in after Manuel Neuer had gone up the pitch as Germany searched for a goal. The loss meant Sweden top the group, with Mexico in second place on goal difference.

Next: The best player on every team at the World Cup

Highlights

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1011989696916832256

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1012011672561565698

The round of 16 begins on June 30, and runs through July 3.