Fans dance in Berlin rain as Germany survive

AFP  |  Berlin 

Fans danced in the rain in as defending champions avoided an embarrassing exit with a 2-1 win over

Supporters watching on big screens at the Brandenburg Gate huddled nervously under grey clouds and drizzle, before throwing their umbrellas away as Toni Kroos' late winner saved

"I'm so, so so happy," screamed Rasdan Abdullah as the final whistle sounded in Sochi.

"It's a great feeling," said Birgit Schlag, who had come to to see the Rolling Stones in concert the day before.

The rain had just begun to fall in the German capital as fired ahead on the half-hour mark, and grey clouds lingered as the crowd sung "You'll Never Walk Alone" at half-time.

They breathed a sigh of relief when equalised just after half-time.

And when Kroos curled in a free-kick in the fifth minute of injury-time, the fans were in ecstasy.

"I said before the game that Reus would score," said a beaming Dieter Mann, a 60-year-old with flags stuck to his head.

"It was the right decision to pick him and drop "

"Defeat for us today was about as likely as England winning the World Cup," said 37-year-old jobseeker Marcel Kreisel, and fell about laughing.

Having slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat against in their opening game, Germany had to beat to avoid elimination.

With top of Group F after winning their second match on Saturday, Germany play on Wednesday knowing they must do as well as the Swedes against if they are to progress to the knockout round.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, June 24 2018. 09:35 IST