Germany coach Joachim Loew described his defending champions as “lucky” after Toni Kroos curled in an injury-time free-kick to beat Sweden and revive their World Cup hopes on Saturday.
Ola Toivonen put the Swedes ahead in the first half and Marco Reus equalised shortly after the interval but Loew’s men could not find the goal they craved as time ticked away.
Germany’s task was made more difficult when key defender Jerome Boateng was sent off in the 82nd minute for a second yellow card.
But Kroos, who had been at fault for Sweden’s goal, stepped up in the 95th minute to curl a free-kick into the top corner, beating the dive of Robin Olsen in the Swedish goal.
“The victory was a lucky one in stoppage time and we came from behind,” Loew told German broadcaster ARD.
“In the end, it was deserved because we believed in ourselves and stuck at it. We proved we have good morale in the squad and Sweden actually only had two chances.
“Mistakes like that happen even to Toni Kroos, so I am pleased that he then scored the goal.
“Today we saw far fewer bad passes than we had against Mexico and when we push so much forward, a mistake can always lead to conceding a goal.”
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