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German uprising
Late comeback pushes Germany past Mexico 2-1
Posted: Saturday September 19, 1998 04:32 PM
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Oliver Bierhoff (front) and Juergen Klinsmann (back) pulled Germany through again, accounting for both goals Stu Forster/Allsport |
MONTPELLIER, France (CNN/SI)
-- Holding a lead proved a lot more difficult for Mexico than
trying to mount a comeback, and it cost the Mexicans a round of 16 berth.
Germany, which
also has thrived on the edge at France '98, rallied with goals from its
prolific forward duo of Juergen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff and squeezed
into the quarterfinals of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory on Monday.
Mexico had previously come back in all three of its first-round games
to reach the round of 16, but it couldn't hold a 1-0 advantage under
relentless German pressure and went out against the three-time World Cup
champions. "I wouldn't want to go through such a game every day," said
German coach Berti Vogts. "My team went through 90 minutes of torture. We
won with our fighting spirit. They found the strength to win a game that
was nearly lost." Bierhoff put home a 12-yard header in the 86th
minute to clinch Germany's victory. He outleaped defender Raul Lara for
substitute Ulf Kirsten's right-wing cross to score his third goal of the
tournament. Germany will play either Croatia or Romania on
Saturday in Lyon. "My compliments to Mexico, but if you look over 90
minutes, I think we deerved to win," said Bierhoff, who also hit the
underside of the bar in the first half. "Mexico was dangerous in the front
but we had more chances." "If you don't use your chances it becomes
difficult," said Bierhoff, who topped the Italian league this season with
27 goals and now has 20 goals for Germany in 30 games. On another
hot World Cup day -- temperatures at kickoff was 33 Celsius (91F) at the
Stade de la Mosson -- Mexico had been on pace to pull the biggest upset of
France '98 until Klinsmann capitalized on a careless miscue by Lara to tie
the game in the 75th minute. When midfielder Dietmar Hamann's long
cross bounded between Lara's feet, Klinsmann hustled to beat goalkeeper
Jorge Campos to the ball with a sliding shot. The German captain also has
three goals in the tournament. "The way we fought in this hot weather
makes us incredibly optimistic for the next games," said Klinsmann, who
pulled even with Rudi Voeller on Germany's all-time scoring list with 49
goals. They share second place behind Gerd Mueller's 68. "We have
tremendous fighting spirit," the German captain said. Mexico had
never won a World Cup game in Europe before a 3-1 first-round victory over
South
Korea in its France '98 opener. After struggling through qualifying and
enduring a huge swell of criticism at home, the team not only made the
second round but gave the reigning European champions a scare. "
think this a message to the Mexican people," said Luis Hernandez, whose
47th-minute goal was his fourth of the Cup. "You should trust us. For those
who do not trust us, please understand. We have done the utmost. We are
extremely proud of what we have done today against the German team."
Hernandez scored when he took Cuauhtemoc Blanco's pass in the box and moved
deftly to the right to avoid midfielder Michael Tarnat and defender
Christian Woerns before beating goalkeeper Andreas Koepke from eight yards.
The Mexicans easily could have made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute.
Substitute Jesus Arellano made a marvelous 50-yard run only to have his
shot saved off the post by a diving Koepke. Hernandez, six yards from the
goal without a defender anywhere close, had all day to put in the rebound,
but instead poked it straight back to the keeper. Germany was
handicapped shortly before kickoff when veteran defender Juergen Kohler had
to drop out with an injured calf. "We had a lot of problems at the
start and we were clearly missing Kohler," Vogts said. Had Germany
lost, it would have been its earliest World Cup exit since 1978, when the
second round used a group format instead of single elimination. The Germans
have made the final eight of every World Cup they have entered except 1938.
"The bad thing is that we lost, but the good thing is that we can be
very proud of this performance," said Mexican coach Manuel Lapuente.
Lineups Germany: Andreas Koepke; Lothar Matthaeus,
Markus Babbel, Christian Woerns; Joerg Heinrich (Andy Moller, 58th),
Michael Tarnat, Thomas Helmer (Christian Ziege, 37th), Dietmar Hamann,
Thomas Haessler (Ulf Kirsten, 74th); Juergen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff.
Mexico: Jorge Campos; Cladio Suarez, Duilio Davino, Pavel
Pardo; Alberto Garcia Aspe, German Villa, Marcelino Bernal (Salvador
Carmona, 46th), Raul Lara; Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Luis Hernandez, Francisco
Palencia (Jesus Arellano, 53rd). Referee: Manuel Melo
Pereira, Portugal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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