Illness, injury could leave Sweden short against Germany

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos scored a dramatic late victor to come from behind and beat Sweden 2-1 on Day 10 of the World Cup after the defending champions were reduced to 10 men. As it stands, South Korea must beat Germany in their last group match and hope Mexico defeat Sweden to have a chance of progressing.

Sweden could be missing a few players for Saturday’s group match against defending champion Germany because of illness and injury.

Joachim Low has promise a reaction from the world champions and they are bent on giving their fans back home something to cheer about.

The Swedes have been on a roll with upsets of France during qualifying and a win that eliminated Italy in the playoffs. Die Mannschaft will be in action at Sochi’s Fisht Stadium after Mexico take on South Korea in Group F.

“It’s easy to play with Romelu Lukaku, pass him the ball and he scores every time, he was fantastic”, said Hazard. If all they can bring to the pitch is physicality, there’s not much of a chance of hanging next to one of the most talented teams in this tournament.

The Germans scored a stoppage time victor through Toni Kroos to snatch a 2-1 victory over the Swedes and hand themselves a lifeline for a spot in the knockout stage after having suffered a shock opening loss to Mexico.

Sweden – who have not reached the round of 16 since 2006 – are on the verge of qualifying for the knockout phase – and a win would condemn Germany to a remarkable premature exit from the showpiece tournament.

A defeat at the hands of Mexico in the first match of its trophy defense means it can not afford another slip-up in Group F Saturday.

“Defeat for us today was about as likely as England winning the World Cup”, said 37-year-old jobseeker Marcel Kreisel, and fell about laughing.

The Saturday fixture in Russian Federation will begin with Belgium taking on Tunisia in Group G at 3 p.m. local time (GMT1200).

‘If the holes are as big as they were against Mexico, you need Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis to make up the space, which we aren’t. If Lindelof is healthy enough to play against Germany that will ease some of Sweden’s concerns as the Manchester United defender has been the top choice for Andersson. “We have to win, we have no wild card, no bonus”. “He was obviously involved in the mistake with the Swedes scoring the first goal”. South Korea, with zero points, could even advance.