It turned out Germany did have a No 9, after all. His name is Niclas Füllkrug, he is 29, less than a month into his international career, and when it mattered most there he was: coming on as a substitute to give his country hope of staying in the World Cup. With seven minutes to go in just his third game for the Mannschaft, he thumped a rising shot beyond Unai Simón to level the score here and offer them a lifeline, immediately running to the touchline and into the arms of Hansi Flick.
On a night when some of the jeopardy and drama had been taken from this game six hours earlier – Costa Rica’s surprise victory against Japan meaning Germany took a step back from the edge of the abyss – Füllkrug’s goal gives them something more solid to hold on to. It is not done by any means, and their fate remains in Japan’s hands too but it could have been so much worse.
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