It's very cool though that in most groups, both final games will have some pretty important stakes. Should make for some fun 2 screen viewing.
Going from bad to worse for Germany, with Boateng getting his 2nd yellow. Him missing their final game will not help at all. Brandt just not having any luck in this tournament. Should have had 2 superb goals to his name by now. Kroos scores and Germany have real life once again!!! Redeeming himself from his bad mistake on Sweden's goal.
so undeserved. if that idiot Guidetti crosses moments earlier he could have sealed the fate of both nations
Whether you support Germany or not, this was a fully deserved victory: Lowe went for it, threw just about everything to start the 2nd half. And they did it after going down to 10 men (from Boateng's own stupidity, but still). That's a testament to that tough as nails Teutonic mentality and a great result for them, setting up a great last day in the process. Tough for Sweden who fought hard as well, but it's not over for them either: the last game vs Mexico will be hard, but it's definitely not impossible for them either.
The words mutiny and staging a coup are being bandied about in terms of Sampaoli's situation with the team. Seems as if he completely lost control of the team...
I tend to agree that the Swedes deserved a point... but that's the way the game goes. If we started talking about 'what if's' in every game then no one would deserve to win. You've gotta put away your chances, simple.
yes it was clear GER fully deserved that win. aside from a lucky finish to even get to 1-1 and a blatant penalty denied. contrarian nonsense at it's finest
Bingo! That's the name of the game: bad calls and missed opportunities will happen unfortunately. Sweden can feel hard done by, but Germany fought for the win and that's what they got in the end. They didn't steal anything...
Called Kross top corner as soon as they gave the stupid freekick away there. Then thought Kroos had blown it buy not hitting it first time, but the guy charging down messed up angles by not cutting out far post properly / turning his back. Kroos dug them out a hole as they were terrible. Wouldnt go near Boateng he was shocking.
Agreed, that was a missed call. Could have changed the game. That comes down to the referee though. Germans played on, showed grit and experience. They took their chances. They won. End of story. Stupid of the Swedish player to give away a freekick in that position to begin with.
And lets not get it twisted. I was hoping for an upset. I'd love it if all the big boys went crashing out before the KO stage.
Didn't something similar happen with the Copa America squad? The year that Messi "retired" after the loss?
The problems then stemmed from the fact that the Argentinian FA was (and still is really) a complete mess from an administrative point of view and how it's generally ran. Messi didn't "retire" over a strop or because he's a sore loser: he was trying to make a point. Assurances that things would change are why he reversed his decision. What's going on right now reportedly is just the players having enough of Sampaoli because they blame him squarely for their current predicament and they just don't trust his decision making anymore (and tbh, it feels like he's lost his mind when you just look at his team selections so far). They just want him out and if those reports are true, the chances Sampaoli will be at the helm for their next game is 50-50 at best. I mean, how do you come back from something like that?
Except for Loftus-Cheek starting for Alli, the England team remains unchanged from the one that faced Tunisia. Sterling gets another chance to impress, let's see if he takes it.