Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Germany booked their place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup with a dramatic injury-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast on Saturday as the Netherlands routed Sweden to put one foot in the last 32. Substitute Deniz Undav was the hero for Germany, scoring a 68th-minute equaliser before calmly slotting his second in the fourth minute of stoppage time to settle an enthralling Group E game in Toronto. The result marks the first time since 2014 that Germany has reached the knockout rounds after back-to-back first-round eliminations in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Ivory Coast, meanwhile, were left ruing their failure to convert a series of promising openings after Franck Kessie had given them the lead in the 30th minute. Germany could seal first place in Group E later Saturday if Ecuador fails to beat Curacao. “Winning mentality, team spirit — we had exactly what you need to be successful in a tournament,” Germany defender Jonathan Tah told MagentaTV after the win. “We never gave up, kept going no matter what. The guys coming off the bench brought energy. Deniz deserves a special mention, outstanding,” the Bayern Munich defender added.
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In Houston, meanwhile, the Netherlands stayed firmly on course for qualification with a stylish 5-1 demolition of Sweden. Sweden, 5-1 winners against Tunisia in their opening Group F match, went into Saturday’s showdown with the Dutch knowing that a victory would guarantee their passage out of the group stage. But Graham Potter’s side were torn apart by a rampant Netherlands team, who roared into a 2-0 lead after just 17 minutes thanks to a brace from Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scored twice in the first nine minutes of the second half to put the Dutch 4-0 up, ensuring that Sweden’s lone strike from Anthony Elanga was only ever going to be a consolation goal. Crysencio Summerville completed the Dutch rout with a fifth goal in the 89th minute. The win leaves the Netherlands, who drew 2-2 with Japan in their opening game, on four points with a healthy plus four goal difference, which is almost certainly likely to be enough to secure a place in the last 32 of the expanded 48-team tournament.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman was delighted at the manner of his team’s victory. “If you look further at the goals we scored, that will cause fear among opponents,” Koeman said. “The way those goals came about, in transition with a lot of pace and a lot of quality, we can be incredibly dangerous.” The last time Sweden conceded five goals in a World Cup match was the 1958 final against Brazil when they lost 5-2.
History will be made in another of Saturday’s games as Japan face Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico, for the 1,000th game at a World Cup. Hajime Moriyasu warned his Japan side they will need to match the intensity of a Tunisia team fired up by the introduction of coach Herve Renard after Sabri Lamouchi became the first coach in World Cup history to be sacked after one game.
On Friday, the United States marched into the knockout round with a 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle. A day of raucous celebrations for the co-hosts got even better when Paraguay’s 1-0 win against Turkey confirmed that the US would clinch top spot in Group D, ensuring a theoretically easier draw in the last 32. After an unconvincing build-up to the World Cup, the Americans have made a dream start to the tournament with Friday’s victory following a stylish 4-1 demolition of Paraguay in their opener.
© 2024 AFP
