South Korea pulled off the biggest shock of the 2018 World Cup in Russia after defeating Germany 2-0 to send the holders home at the group stage for the first time.
Germany needed to beat South Korea to advance to the knockout stages but stoppage-time goals from Kim Young-gwon and Tottenham forward Son Heung-min secured an unlikely victory.
Speechless 😶 Germany are out of the #WorldCup. #DieMannschaft #ZSMMN #KORGER 2-0 pic.twitter.com/FhN2QtNZmp
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) June 27, 2018
😢 sorry …
— Mats Hummels (@matshummels) June 27, 2018
Mexico and Sweden were the nations which capitalised on Germany’s demise after the European team ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over the Central Americans, and players from both sides could not hide their delight at progressing to the last 16.
Estamos en octavos de final. 6 puntos de 9 posibles. Ha sido un trabajo duro y ha valido la pena lo recorrido, pero ahora comienza por lo que hemos estado luchando, así que a disfrutarlo y prepararnos lo mejor posible. Por cierto: ¡ENORME NUESTRA GENTE! 🔝 Gracias. 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/PA7DJx8ZR0
— Miguel Layun (@Miguel_layun) June 27, 2018
Experiencia es el nombre que damos a nuestras equivocaciones.💪🏼 #NoMeRindo Esto sigue.🔛🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/ooDOsVTeTH
— Edson Alvarez (@EdsonAlvarez19) June 27, 2018
Estamos dónde queríamos estar y comienza un nuevo mundial ahora en los octavos. UNIDOS COMO SIEMPRE que el destino nos tiene algo MUY GRANDE preparado. VAMOS HERMANOS VAMOS @miseleccionmx 💪🏾🇲🇽👊🏾 #NadaNosDetiene #Union #OnlyGoodVibesHere pic.twitter.com/3t9xz5G22H
— Carlos Salcedo (@Csalcedojr) June 27, 2018
3-0 Victory and group winners, let’s gooo!!!! Thanks for the support!🇸🇪🇸🇪🇸🇪💙💛 pic.twitter.com/e6kmUHJuTA
— IsaacKieseThelin (@IKieseThelin) June 27, 2018
Elsewhere, England take on Roberto Martinez’s Belgium on Thursday evening with their last-16 berth already secured, but top spot remains up for grabs in Group G.
Both sides have prolific goalscorers in their line-ups with England’s Harry Kane leading the race for the Golden Boot with five goals in his two matches, while Romelu Lukaku is just one behind ahead of the clash at Kaliningrad Stadium.
And Gareth Southgate has ensured the team is ready defensively during training at Spartak Zelenogorsk Stadium on Wednesday.
The players looked in good spirits ahead of their final group game before they flew to Kaliningrad in the afternoon.
Preparation has again been really brilliant for the game tomorrow. We're expecting a tough game but we're focused and we're ready! Let's do this! #ThreeLions 🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/Ae39H3Ws74
— Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) June 27, 2018
Touchdown Kaliningrad🤘🏾🦁✈️#threelions #worldcup pic.twitter.com/pJClNCf2Nj
— Ashley Young (@youngy18) June 27, 2018
Australia may have made their exit from the tournament but forward Tim Cahill enjoyed a little bit of sightseeing with his family in Russia.
Back with my crew 🤩😘🤗 pic.twitter.com/ETpLsULrqj
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) June 27, 2018
And finally, Denmark, who will take on Croatia in the last 16 following a drab 0-0 draw with France, celebrated their passage to the knockout stages with a team meal.