Germany crash out of World Cup in huge upset after draw with South Korea

SEISMIC SHOCK: Germany's Alexandra Popp, right, and teammate Lena Oberdorf react to their exit. Pic: AP Photo/Tertius Pickard

South Korea 1 Germany 1 

South Korea took the biggest scalp of the World Cup group stage, a stunning defensive performance earning a 1-1 draw that has sent the tournament favourites Germany out of the competition.

Alex Popp’s header at the close of the first half cancelled out Cho So-hyun’s early strike but with Morocco taking all three points against Colombia, only a win would stop Colombia and Morocco progressing and Germany crashing out.

Germany had perhaps not expected to go into this game needing a result, with the European Championship runners-up likely feeling confident in a group with Colombia, South Korea and Morocco. A huge 70 places separated them from the debutants Morocco in the Fifa rankings and the second-ranked side also had a large margin over South Korea, who are 17th, and Colombia, 25th.

Except if there is one thing this World Cup group stage has shown, it is that the gap between the traditional powerhouses and the rest is closing rapidly and overconfidence would prove costly.

There were two changes to Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side that had suffered a shock defeat, by Colombia, in their second game. The defender Sara Doorsoun and midfielder Lina Magull dropped to the bench with Wolfsburg’s centre-back Marina Hegering and the Bayern Munich forward Lea Schüller starting.

South Korea made three changes to the team that had lost 1-0 to Morocco, with Choe Yu-ri, Chun Ga-ram and the 16-year-old forward Casey Phair coming in in place of Hong Hye-ji, Son Hwa-yeon and Park Eun-sun.

Germany looked rattled early on by an aggressive South Korea press, perhaps still shaken by their 2-1 loss to Colombia. It took only six minutes for Korea to score a goal that would rattle them further.

Guardian