Coutinho, Son and Marcelo
Shock German exit
Defending champions Germany exited the World Cup at the first round after conceding two stoppage-time goals in a shock 2-0 defeat by unfancied South Korea. They became the fourth champions in five World Cups to fall at the first hurdle during their title defence. They are also the first World Cup favourites to be eliminated.
Germany players react (Photo: Reuters)
South Korea mislead themselves!
South Korea's players were unaware they had been eliminated from the World Cup when the final whistle went after their remarkable 2-0 win over Germany. The Asian side needed to beat Germany by more than two goals to stand a chance of qualifying from Group F as runners up. Some of the players cried when they learned that Sweden crushed Mexico 3-0 in the other group game, making Korea's shocking victory over Germany not enough to lift them through.
South Korea's forward Son Heung-min (Photo: AFP)
Coutinho outshines Neymar
Philippe Coutinho outshone Neymar in Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia, producing a brilliant all-round display. Although both men provided assists, Neymar repeatedly failed to skip past his challengers, unlike Coutinho whose astute passes unsettled Serbia's defence throughout the game as the Selecao made it to the last 16.
Brazil's forward Neymar and Brazil's forward Philippe Coutinho stand behind the ball (Photo: AFP)
Marcelo injury
Brazil's influential left-back Marcelo gave his side a scare by picking up an injury after 10 minutes of Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia. He made way for Filipe Luis, with Brazil sorely missing his forays down the flank. They will hope the Real Madrid man recovers in time to play against Mexico in the last 16 on Monday.
Brazil's Marcelo leaves the pitch with medical staff after sustaining an injury (Photo: REUTERS)
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