Hummels' header hammers France out of the World Cup
Mats Hummels headed the winner as Germany beat old rivals France 1-0 to advance to the World Cup semi-finals for a record fourth straight time on Friday.
Borussia Dortmund defender Hummels rose to head home Toni Kroos’s free-kick on 13 minutes to settle a cagey encounter at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.
Joachim Loew’s side will now play Brazil in next Tuesday’s (Jul 8) semi-final in Belo Horizonte.
“The next dream has come true,” said man-of-the-match Hummels.
“I hope that our journey won’t end soon and that we can make it back to compete here week next Sunday,” he added, referring to the July 13 final.
France coach Didier Deschamps bemoaned his team’s failure to capitalise on the handful of chances they created.
“One team is more used to these occasions and has more experience. We were not clinical in front of goal,” He added.
France can now only rue their lacklustre first half performance which saw Germany dominate in sweltering conditions.
France rallied in the second half and Hummels saved Germany with a desperate late block of a Karim Benzema shot shortly before Manuel Neuer parried a firm strike from Blaise Matuidi.
Andre Schuerrle should have sealed victory in the closing minutes, but with the goal gaping, struck his shot from Mesut Ozil’s low cross directly at Hugo Lloris in the French goal.
There was still time for Neuer to save Germany at the death, pulling off a brilliant block from Benzema just seconds from the final whistle.
Source: AFP, Shuaitou
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