KAZAN, June 26: Marco Reus has no intention of allowing South Korea to get in the way of Germany progressing to the last 16 tomorrow now that the World Cup holders have already saved their skins once.
Reus was a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Mexico, but given a starting role against Sweden he bundled in a 48th-minute leveller to drag Germany back into the game.
With seconds on the clock in Sochi, Germany secured a vital 2-1 win thanks to Toni Kroos�s superb curling shot, with Reus setting it up in a set-piece move.
It meant Germany avoided the ignominy of becoming the sixth team to crash out as World Cup holders, but they are not safe yet.
Four years after Spain became just the fifth champions sent packing after a disastrous group-stage campaign, Joachim Loew�s pre-tournament favourites could still be stopped at the first round for the first time since 1938.
While the exuberant, post-match celebrations by Germany�s coaching staff upset Sweden, they belied the champions� desire to show the rest of the world that their business in Russia is far from over.
However, the Germany team that won all 10 of their qualifiers with a whopping 39-plus goal difference is yet to convince many they deserve a place in the last 16, let alone the World Cup final. � AFP
