Korea are going home…but they have taken Germany with them and saved Mexico.
How the mighty have fallen!
Not for the first time in Russia, Germany were bombed out of contention, ending rock bottom in Group F.
And their demise can be squarely placed at the feet and hands of Korean keeper Cho Hyun-woo, whose agent’s phone will ring incessantly as clubs across the world scramble to sign on Korea’s once forgotten stopper.
As before, Germany seemed to suffer from a surfeit of ball which made them look good but achieved little as they aimlessly spread it from side to side.
Meanwhile, the super fit and lively Koreans were giving warning that they would be a handful on the break.
After a relatively uninspiring first half the Germans did come out more determined and might have scored in minutes but for an outstanding stretch save to his left by Cho.
Germany had set up camp in the Korean half but Marco Reus, Toni Kroos and Mats Hummels between them managed to miss at least ten chances, with Cho saving another ten.
The 90 minutes came and went and in extra time Korea’s Kim Young-Gwon had the ball in the net only to see the offside flag go up.
Elation to utter disappointment swung back to jubilation when VAR disagreed and the end was in sight for Germany’s World Cup hopes.
But for Korea the game ended on an exclamation mark rather than a full stop as Heuer went AWOL trying to get Germany back in the picture.
This left half the field undefended and a long ball saw Son Heung-min take advantage and slip the second into an empty net for 2-0.
A pity Korea must depart the competition, but they do so having earned the respect of the entire football world – and heaps of thanks from a certain segment of South America.
