Ger-money’s worth
Port Elizabeth, July 11: 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.
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.
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.
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.
Pic Caption:
Germany’s Sami Khedira (left) celebrates with teammate Per Mertesacker after scoring his side’s third goal during the match for the third place against Uruguay in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. — AP
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