World Cup 2018: 3 twists that could happen in the final round of group stages
The third and final round of the World Cup 2018 is underway. While many teams have already qualified for the next round of the tournament, the fates of some other groups are yet to be decided.
The World Cup dreams of many will be over by the end of this round, but others will have their hopes alive as they go into the Round of 16 of the competition.
The first ten days of the contest was filled with surprises and the last round of the group stages could have some more in store for the lovers of the beautiful game.
Here are three twists that could happen in the final round of the group fixtures:
#1 South Korea to upset Germany
The last two World Cup Champions, Spain, and Italy, failed to qualify to the Round of 16 in their title defence campaign. Could Germany follow the same path?
Germany looked nothing like the team that won the competition last term when they faced a disappointing defeat against Mexico in their first game of the group stages.
Even Sweden looked like tying down the European side to a draw until Toni Kroos scored an injury-time stunner.
Going into the last round of the group stages, Mexico lead with six points, while Germany and Sweden are tied with three points.
Germany will face South Korea, and Sweden will face Mexico. The two European sides have equal points, goal difference and goals for.
Sweden could put up a fight against Mexico like they did against Germany and could even come out with a win. That would make the match against South Korea a must win for Germany.
Korea, already being eliminated from the tournament, will be playing with nothing to lose and could make things difficult for Die Mannschaft.
Even if Germany win their game, but Sweden win their game with the same scoreline, it will still knock Germany out of the tournament, as they have received one red card, while Sweden has none.
Germany is capable of easily qualifying to further stages of the tournament, but one cannot rule out the chances of them being eliminated in the first round.