One of the most dramatic games in recent World Cup history occurred on Saturday night in Sochi.
Germany came from a goal down to record a 2-1 win over Sweden thanks to Toni Kroos’ goal in the 95th minute.
The match had been the longest German siege in Russia since Stalingrad. The world champions started brightly, managing to get behind the rigid Swedish backline. However, they fell behind when Ola Toivonen scored 15 minutes from the end of the first-half and looked lost for the remainder of the half. A defeat would have sent Germany home, and a draw wouldn’t have been much better – as Sweden and Mexico just would have needed to play out a draw in their final group game.
Marco Reus equalised just after the break and Germany stepped-up their assault on the Swedish goal. Even after Jerome Boateng was sent-off, Germany dominated possession. The world champions kept pushing for the winning goal and were rewarded when Kroos slammed a shot into the top corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
The German players, fans and coaching staff burst into celebration, but some on the bench took it a step too far. A member of the Germany coaching staff goading the devastated Swedish, as shown in the clip below, which prompted an inevitable reaction.
There was a lot of pushing and shoving as officials in Sochi tried to separate the opposition benches.
https://twitter.com/GrimandiTweets/status/1010632774322151428
