SOCHI, Russia — The German shots came from the left and the right and, at least once, even off a striker’s chest. They slammed into Swedish legs and Swedish backs and, at least once, right off the goal post.
But the go-ahead goal didn’t come. It didn’t seem it would ever come. And then, in the blink of an eye, at the last possible moment, it did.
Germany restored its 2018 World Cup hopes with one swing of Toni Kroos’s right foot on Saturday night, snatching a 2-1 victory over Sweden from the jaws of a draw that would have felt very much like a defeat.