Germany 2, Algeria 1
Germany 2, Algeria 1
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil — Andre Schuerrle and Mesut Ozil scored in extra time Monday to lead Germany to a 2-1 win over Algeria and into a World Cup quarterfinal match against France.
The second-round match ended 0-0 after regulation time, forcing two periods of extra time.
Schuerrle scored two minutes in, dragging his left leg and backheeling a cross from Thomas Mueller into the far corner of the net.
Ozil added the second in the 120th, and substitute Abdelmoumene Djabou pulled one back for Algeria in stoppage time.
Three-time champion Germany, which has now advanced past the second round at nine consecutive World Cups, will face 1998 winner France on Friday at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
With the temperature a chilly 57 degrees and a light rain falling at times, the pace was high at the Estadio Beira-Rio but the goals didn’t come until the end.
Ozil thought he had put the result beyond doubt when he pounded in a rebound after a shot from Schuerrle was cleared off the line by defender Esseid Belkalem, but Djabou’s well-timed volley a minute later kept the game alive until the last seconds.
France 2, Nigeria 0
BRASILIA, Brazil — Paul Pogba scored with a late header to finally break Nigeria’s stubborn resistance and Joseph Yobo added an own-goal as France advanced to a World Cup quarterfinal against Germany.
Four years ago, the French squad crashed out of the group stage, shamed a nation by going on strike and was jeered by its own fans and lambasted by politicians in the fallout from an embarrassing tournament.
“I’m proud of my players because we’re coming back from very far. I think we’ve given a lot of pleasure back to our fans,” France coach Didier Deschamps said. “I think there were 5,000 here and millions back home who will feel proud.”
Pogba’s crucial goal came after Nigeria’s best spell of the match.
Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama had just made a superb save to tip over Karim Benzema’s header, but he flapped at the ball from the ensuing corner and Pogba pounced in the 79th minute to nod in his first goal of the tournament.
By wire sources