RAVI K YADAV

What an amazing world cup we are having so far! People are changing their favorites each day. None of the soccer behemoths are standing up to their reputation. The so-called underdogs are emerging with-in each group. One of the nerve-wracking matches was played today between Germany and Sweden. German fans were expecting an easy win, but Sweden wanted to give a tough fight. Sweden scored first, which put Germany under tremendous pressure. Germans team created ample opportunities for the forward and the striker to score a goal, but Werner and Reus were fumbling near the goal. The second half opened with the same energy from the German side. Reus finally scored in the 48th minute giving much-needed relief to the team. The attack continued and they still missed the goal post left and right. Boateng was single-handedly managing Sweden’s counter-attack. As the clock showed last 10 minutes, the coach and bench started showing a panic. A draw from here may still mean a ticket back home. They wanted to score as many goals as they can. A small challenge from Boateng resulted in a red card for the German player. I think it was too harsh a decision, especially compared to what we are seeing in other matches. It was a fair challenge, but the referee wasn’t impressed and sent him out. But I think it worked in Germany’s favor. It exposed Germany’s center back. Sweden wanted to exploit this opportunity and created a gap in its defense, which so far was proving difficult to crack. 5 minutes were added to the time towards the end and German team was trying all they can to score one last goal. They were trying to fire from each side, but it was just not working for them. Finally, a free kick was given and Toni Kroos was on the left of the goal post, right outside of the penalty area taking the shot. All eyes were on him to score a free kick, instead, he passed the ball to Reus to a little right. Reus stopped the ball and Toni hit it right towards the goal. This time the ball went straight in and Germany jumped to 2-1. A classical German way to finish the game.

Germany is right now tied with Sweden for the second spot. They will play S. Korea next and Sweden will face Mexico. Germany must win next game to keep their world cup campaign open. Argentina is already on the brink of returning home. Portugal and Spain are both still playing strong.