Former England captain Terry Butcher has lavished praise on Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, who came to his country’s rescue with a winning goal against Sweden at the 2018 World Cup on Saturday night.
Marco Reus cancelled out a first-half Ola Toivonen effort to leave the two teams on level terms, before Kroos won it for the reigning world champions with a last-gasp strike.
Germany’s World Cup fate is in their own hands ahead of their final Group F clash against South Korea next week, and Butcher has paid tribute to Kroos for his late strike.
“When you’re down and out like Germany were, you need a character to bail you out. Toni Kroos did that for Germany today – he drove them forward, passed Sweden out of the game – and it’s only fitting he won it for them at the end,” Butcher told BBC Sport.
Germany suffered a 1-0 defeat to Mexico in their group opener, and a draw on Saturday night would have left them sweating on the outcome of Sweden’s clash with Mexico.