Korea Republic sends Germany home

epa06844276 Toni Kroos of Germany (R) and Lee Jae-sung of South Korea in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group F preliminary round soccer match between South Korea and Germany in Kazan, Russia, 27 June 2018.

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Wednesday Jun 27, 2018. 18:20

Germany lost their final Group F match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup 2-0 to Korea Republic at Kazan Arena on Wednesday afternoon.

The Germans were desperate for a win as they had three points ahead of this one and their mission was to join Mexico in the knockout rounds.

On the other hand, the Koreans were in search of a win to end their campaign on a high.

The first 10 minutes saw the defending champions keeping the Asian defence under pressure, but they could not beat Cho Hyun-woon between the posts.

In the 18th minute, Jung Woo-young unleashed a brilliant shot from a set piece where Manuel Neuer spilled the ball before punching it away for a corner.

Before the half-hour mark, Germany had a scare as Son Heung-min volleyed his effort from close range, exposing their shaky defence.

However, the two sides failed to break the deadlock at half time.

The second half saw the Koreans playing most of their touches in the German half as they knocked for a goal.

Substitute Mario Gomes would attempt a powerful header in the box to break the deadlock, yet Cho Hyun-woo managed to swallow the effort in the 66th minute.

Germany continued through Toni Kroos to try in searching for a winner in the 87th minute, but he was denied by the Korean net minder.

Right in the injury time, the VAR had to to intervene as Korea found the back of the net when Young-gwon converted from close range to beat Neuer from a corner kick - the goal was initially ruled out for an offside, but then reinstated.

Two minutes later, one of the world’s best goalkeepers tried to play as a sweeper and lost the ball to concede as Son Heung-min made it 2-0 for the Koreans.

Despite their efforts to secure a goal, Die Mannschaft failed to reach the knockouts as defending champions, as Sweden and Mexico have advanced from the group.

Korea Republic: (0) 2 (Young-gwon 90+2’, Heung-min 90+6’)
Germany: (0)

Korea Republic: Hyun-woo, Chul, Yong, Hyun-soo, Young-gwon, Young-sun, Jae-sung, Seon-min, Woo-young, Heung-Min, Ja-Cheol (Hee-chan 56’)

Germany: Neuer, Hummels, Hector (Brandt 78’), Kimmich, Sule, Ozil, Goretzka (Muller 63’), Khedira (Gomez 58’), Kroos, Werner, Reus