24 June,2018 12:43 PM IST | Sochi | AFP
Germany's midfielder Toni Kroos (L) is congratulated by Germany's coach Joachim Loew (R) at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup Group F football match between Germany and Sweden at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi. Pic/AFP
Germany coach Joachim Loew described his defending champions as "lucky" after Toni Kroos curled in an injury-time free-kick to beat Sweden and revive their World Cup hopes on Saturday. Ola Toivonen put the Swedes ahead in the first half and Marco Reus equalised shortly after the interval but Loew's men could not find the goal they craved as time ticked away. Germany's task was made more difficult when key defender Jerome Boateng was sent off in the 82nd minute for a second yellow card.
But Kroos, who had been at fault for Sweden's goal, stepped up in the 95th minute to curl a free-kick into the top corner, beating the dive of Robin Olsen in the Swedish goal. "The victory was a lucky one in stoppage time and we came from behind," Loew told German broadcaster ARD.
"In the end, it was deserved because we believed in ourselves and stuck at it. We proved we have good morale in the squad and Sweden actually only had two chances. "Mistakes like that happen even to Toni Kroos, so I am pleased that he then scored the goal. "Today we saw far fewer bad passes than we had against Mexico and when we push so much forward, a mistake can always lead to conceding a goal."
Also Read - FIFA World Cup 2018: Toni Kroos Hits Stoppage-Time Stunner To Keep Germany's WC Alive
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
