It was the sixth match of the Round of 16 as Germany faced Algeria. Germany comes as the top team of the “Group of Death.” The winner of the match would face France on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Even though Algeria doesn’t possess a large amount of world class players like Germany does, they have still shown that they have a team capable of making it far in the tournament. Algeria has also proven that they are no pushovers. Both teams began the game pressuring to score. Algeria’s goal in the 17th minute was denied to what seemed like an offside. After the replay showed you could clearly see the Algerian was offside. Faouzi Ghoulman came close to scoring on the 18th minute but his shot was just a bit wide from the second post. Mario Gotze came close to score on the 40th minute as Toni Kroos’ shot was deflected by the Algerian goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi. The first yellow card of the match went to Rafik Halliche after a hard challenge on the 42nd minute. The first half ended 0-0.
The second half began with a substitution from Germany as Mario Gotze came off for Andre Schurrle. Germany kept trying to find a hole in the Algerian defense so they could secure their position in the quarterfinals. Sami Khedira came on for the injured Shkoradan Mustafi on the 70th minute. Thomas Muller came close to scoring multiple times but he couldn’t finish them. The first substitution for Algeria came on the 78th minute as Yacine Brahimi replaced Saphir Sliti Taiderin the Algerian midfield. The first 90 minutes ended with a 0-0 draw leading both teams into extra time.
Algeria went into extra time with two substitutions left while Germany only has one left. It only took Schurrle two minutes to score in extra time as Thomas Muller assisted him in scoring on the 92nd minute. Germany increased their pressure in extra time which led Algeria to work more defensively. Algeria didn’t stop their pressure on the German back line. They kept at it looking for the equalizer which might send them to penalty kicks. Madjid Bougherra came off for Rafik Halliche on the 97th minute. The final substitution for the Algerian side came on the 100th minute as El Arabi Soudanni came off for Abdelmoumene Djabou. The first half of extra time ended with a 1-0 lead for Germany.
As the second half of extra time began, Phillip Lahm received the first yellow card for Germany on the 107th minute. Bastian Schweinsteiger came off on the 109th minute due to a slight injury. Cristoph Kramer replaced him in the midfield. Mesut Ozil netted the second goal for Germany on the 120th minute to secure Germany’s spot in the quarterfinals.
Ozil hasn’t had a great world cup performance but this goal showed that he still is a crucial part of the German squad. Djabou score the only goal for Algeria on stoppage time of the second half of extra time. It didn’t matter as Germany still won the match with Mesut Ozil’s goal. Germany will now face France in the quarterfinals which will be a battle of titans. Both Germany and France are some of the powerhouses of Europe so this match up will be one you don’t want to miss.
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