Germany edge out Uruguay to claim third place
Sami Khedira’s 82nd-minute header earned Germany a 3-2 victory in a
rousing and rain-soaked World Cup third-place play-off match with
Uruguay here on Saturday. The Stuttgart midfielder rose to nod the ball
beyond Fernando Muslera after Uruguay failed to clear a late corner,
while Diego Forlan was inches away from a dramatic equaliser with an
injury-time free-kick that struck the crossbar.
Forlan rounded off an impressive individual showing at the tournament
with a brilliantly-taken volley to give Uruguay a 2-1 lead early in the
second period, only for Marcell Jansen to restore parity moments later.
Thomas Mueller had put Germany in front in the 19th minute, but
Edinson Cavani drew Uruguay level in the 28th minute.
“Of course we had all hoped for something better, but this match for
third place was also a final that we absolutely wanted to win,” said
Khedira. “At this World Cup we were a very young team and we’ve put down
a marker.
But we obviously want to win more in the future.” Mueller and
Forlan’s goals took them level with Spain’s David Villa and Dutch
midfielder Wesley Sneijder in the race for the Golden Boot with five
strikes apiece.
The young German will finish as the tournament’s official top scorer
if Villa and Sneijder both fail to score in Sunday’s final, though,
because assists are taken into account in case of a tie and he has
supplied three to his rivals’ one each.
“Finishing among the top four teams is spectacular,” said Forlan.
“At the beginning we never thought we’d taste a moment like this. We
wanted to finish third, but we’ll remember the positives.”
Miroslav Klose’s hopes of matching Ronaldo’s record of 15 World Cup
finals goals were dashed after a back injury saw him relegated to the
German bench by coach Joachim Loew alongside skipper Philipp Lahm and
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Uruguay looked to take advantage of lethargy in the German ranks in
the second period, with Germany goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt regularly
called into action.
He pulled off a fine double save to repel Cavani and then Luis
Suarez, but was then beaten by an acrobatic volley from Forlan that flew
inside the right-hand post.
Jansen drew Germany level in the 56th minute when he capitalised on a
rash charge from Muslera to nod in Jerome Boateng’s right-wing cross.
The livewire Suarez produced a flying save from Butt with an
ambitious effort and the veteran also had to dash from his line to deny
Forlan.
German substitute Stefan Kiessling smashed a shot straight at Muslera
following a bewitching stepover on the edge of the box, before Khedira
set the seal on a memorable tournament for Joachim Loew’s young team.
Kiessling could have made it 4-2 but he swept over from 12 yards
after a flowing move.
Germany edged Uruguay 1-0 when the sides met in the third-place match
at the 1970 World Cup and they came close to taking an early lead here
when Arne Friedrich met Mesut Ozil’s deep corner with a header that
bounced back off the crossbar.
Uruguay held out for just nine more minutes, with Mueller slotting in
from close range after 19 minutes after Bastian Schweinsteiger’s
swerving drive was pushed out by Muslera.
Lightning counter-attacks have been Germany’s trademark at this
tournament but they were dealt a taste of their own medicine in the 28th
minute when Diego Perez quickly fed Suarez, whose pass was stabbed home
by Cavani.
PORT ELIZABETH, AFP |