Germany's Hummels fit to play vs South Korea, Rudy doubtful

Germany's Hummels fit to play vs South Korea, Rudy doubtful

Mats Hummels (front). (Xinhua/Xu Zijian/IANS)

Moscow, June 25 (IANS) German defender Mats Hummels will be fit to play in the team's final Group F match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup against South Korea, but it remains to be seen if midfielder Sebastian Rudy can take the pitch, assistant coach Marcus Sorg said on Monday.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's game, Sorg said Hummels has recovered from a neck problem but that Rudy's participation was still in question after undergoing an operation to fix a broken nose he picked up in Germany's dramatic 2-1 win against Sweden on Saturday, reports Efe.

Sorg added that he valued the entire squad's strength in difficult times and praised Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira - substitutes against Sweden - for their model behaviour and for supporting their teammates.

German coach Joachim Low had given the team a rest on Sunday after their tense game, which saw Die Mannschaft on the edge of elimination from the tournament until Real Madrid's Toni Kross scored the winning goal in extra time.

After losing to Mexico 1-0 in the opening round, defending champion Germany needs to defeat South Korea to be able to advance to knockout round.

Mexico leads Group F with six points, while Germany is in second place with three points, ahead of Sweden on goal difference, and South Korea is at the bottom with zero.

--IANS

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