Wednesday’s (27 June) first set of simultaneous World Cup kickoffs created a rollercoaster of emotion for fans of the respective nations.
Mexico, needing just a draw to guarantee qualification for the next round, left their supporters nerves shredded as they collapsed to a 3–0 defeat at the hands of Sweden.
Going into half-time, all was on track but five minutes into the second half Sweden’s Ludwig Augustinsson opened the scoring, firing in unmarked at the back post. Panic set in for Mexico when Andreas Granqvist converted a penalty seven minutes later.
Mexico feared the worst when Edson Alvarez deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper to make it 3–0.
With news that it was still 0–0 between Germany and South Korea, Mexico knew a single goal from Germany would knock them out. It never came through as Germany wasted chance after chance.
South Korea’s Kim Young-gwon then produced a moment that may haunt Germany for years to come. The ball bobbled to him in the Germany box and he slotted past Manuel Neuer to crush German spirits. Germany’s anguish was prolonged as the referee consulted the VAR and the goal stood.
Minutes later, Neuer’s desperate attempt at heroics only ended in embarrassment.
The goalkeeper, on a mad walkabout, was tackled deep in South Korea’s half and Son Heung-min sprinted half the length of the field to tap in finishing off Germanys time in Russia.
The second pair of games were less eventful. Brazil was seldom bothered by Serbia. Apart from a bright 15 minutes after half-time, Serbia had few chances. A goal in each half from Paulinho and Thiago Silva stunted any Serbian momentum meaning the 2–0 win allowed Brazil to cruise into the last 16 top of their group.
Switzerland was the other team to qualify from Group E. With Serbia unable to get anything from their game with Brazil, Switzerland had nothing to worry about against Costa Rica. The highlight of the game was Costa Rica’s never-say-die attitude.
Twice Costa Rica fought back from a goal down to secure a 2–2 draw. Fighting to the end is all you can ask and Costa Rica can go home proud of their passion and commitment.
Twelve slots booked, four to go this evening. Join us tomorrow to find out who completes the last 16.
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