[World Cup] Germany survives Algeria 2-1

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) ― When it comes to the knockout stages of the World Cup, wins are worth more than style.

That was on full display Monday when Germany labored to a 2-1 extra-time win over an aggressive Algeria side to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive time.

“You don’t have to play fantastic every match,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “You have to win.”

All three goals came in extra time after Algeria dominated for long stretches during the opening 90 minutes. Germany substitute Andre Schuerrle scored in the 92nd minute and Mesut Ozil made it 2-0 in the 120th before substitute Abdelmoumene Djabou pulled one back in injury time for Algeria.

Three-time champion Germany will next face 1998 winner France on Friday at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was a victory of will power,” Loew said. “We had major problems in the first half to organize the way we played. We made simple mistakes, which invited the opponents to start counterattacks.”

Germany finally took the lead when Thomas Mueller provided a cross from the left flank that was slightly behind Schuerrle. The Germany forward dragged his left leg and backheeled the ball into the far corner, leaving goalkeeper Rais M’Bolhi with no chance.

With the temperature a chilly 14 degrees Celsius and a light rain falling at times, the pace was high at the Estadio Beira-Rio but the goals didn’t come until the end.

“Yes, we had our problems but at the end we were better and had a lot of chances,” Loew said. “The important thing is to advance. ... Past champions also did not play well every match. You cannot play fantastic every match of the tournament.” 


France 2, Nigeria 0

BRASILIA (AP) ― After being touted as one of the World Cup’s entertainers, it was a gritty performance which got France through to the quarterfinals in a 2-0 victory over Nigeria on Monday.

France’s forward line had made headlines with eight goals in its opening two group games, but there was little flair on display in a hard-fought contest against the African champions.

France needed a late header from midfielder Paul Pogba and an injury-time own goal from defender Joseph Yobo to overcome a robust Nigeria.

The reward is a quarterfinal against Germany on Friday at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana stadium, following the Germans’ 2-1 victory over Algeria.

Pogba’s goal in the 79th minute followed Nigeria’s best spell of the match and came soon after France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris had made a crucial save to deny Peter Odemwingie.

“We’re not the prettiest or the best, but we can do good things,” France coach Didier Deschamps said after the game. “The deliverance came late. There was a lot of tension because we were up against a very athletic side and there were a lot of challenges.”

Nigeria, which had a goal ruled out for offside in the 19th minute after Emmanuel Emenike poked home Ahmed Musa’s cross from the left, wasted a lot of second-half possession.

Four years ago, France crashed out of the group stage, shamed a nation by going on strike and was jeered by its own fans and lambasted by politicians in the fallout from an embarrassing tournament.

It’s very different situation now.

“I’m proud of my players because we’re coming back from very far. I think we’ve given a lot of pleasure back to our fans,” Deschamps said. “I think there were 5,000 here and millions back home who will feel proud.”