In Brief
- Germany is back in the knockout stage first time since 2014
- This leaves the Netherlands at the top of the group.
A dramatic comeback, a supersub, plenty of goals and an end to a 12-year wait — the World Cup was full of drama on Sunday morning.
Germany celebrated their qualification to the knockout phase of the FIFA World Cup with a dramatic last-minute 2-1 win against Côte d'Ivoire in front of 43,000 fans at Toronto Stadium.
This will be their first knockout-stage appearance since lifting the trophy in 2014.
Earlier on Sunday, the Netherlands beat Sweden 5-1, with their Liverpool superstar Cody Gakpo scoring a brace to help shatter a World Cup record for Sweden that had stood since 1958.
'Winning mentality, team spirit'
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Germany was chasing their opponents in the first half, and the Ivorians surged ahead when Franck Kessie struck in the 30th minute, following strong work by their teenage phenomenon Yan Diomande,
When the second half began, the Germans applied relentless pressure.
The Ivorian defence held firm until the 68th minute, but the Germans ultimately broke through when Deniz Undav volleyed in a cross into the goal, only eight minutes after he was subbed into the match.
That was not his most important moment in the match, as in 94th minute, his second goal sent the German crowd into wild celebrations, snapping a string of disappointments from the last two World Cups.
"Winning mentality, team spirit -- we had exactly what you need to be successful in a tournament," Germany defender Jonathan Tah said.
"We never gave up, we kept going no matter what. The guys coming off the bench brought energy. Deniz deserves a special mention, outstanding."
Germany is now top of Group E with 6 points and guaranteed to qualify for the next rounds. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann had been under huge pressure to make the breakthrough in the group stage.
He paid tribute to Undav's clinical finishing and said it was "not out of the question" that he could start the next game against Ecuador.
"That was great for him. You can't get more decisive than that," Nagelsmann told MagentaTV.
Causing 'fear among opponents'
Earlier, the Netherlands beat Sweden 5-1, flipping the script from the Swedes' 5-1 demolition of Tunisia less than a week earlier, in a display that coach Ronald Koeman said proved his side can be "incredibly dangerous".
This leaves the Netherlands, which had a 2-2 draw against Japan in their first match, with four points at the top of the group, with a game in hand, waiting for the result of Japan-Tunisia, which will be played later today.
The Netherlands' win is almost certainly going to be enough to secure them a place in the last 32 of the expanded 48-team tournament.
The match started with two goals by the Dutch side in the first 17 minutes, thanks to their 24-year-old striker Brian Brobbey.
Liverpool's Cody Gakpo scored twice in the first nine minutes of the second half to put the Dutch 4-0 up, ensuring that Sweden's lone strike from Anthony Elanga was only ever going to be a consolation goal.
Crysencio Summerville completed the Dutch rout with a fifth goal in the 89th minute.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman was delighted at the manner of his team's victory.
"If you look further at the goals we scored, that will cause fear among opponents," he said.
"The way those goals came about, in transition with a lot of pace and a lot of quality, we can be incredibly dangerous."
The last time Sweden conceded five goals in a World Cup match was the 1958 final against Brazil, when they lost 5-2.
— With reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters news agencies.
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