How can Germany qualify for the World Cup knockout round?

Following a loss to open the World Cup, Germany entered the second round of group stage games with some work to do. They needed a draw against Sweden just to stay alive, but they grabbed a last-gasp win to revitalize their chances to advance to the round of 16. The Germany vs. Sweden highlights and result can be found here.

Here’s the Group F table after Germany’s 2-1 win over Sweden, and Mexico’s victory over South Korea.

Mexico — 6 points, +2 GD
Germany — 3 points, 0 GD
Sweden — 3 points, 0 GD
South Korea — 0 points, -2 GD

The Germany win means things get weird. It means that no one has clinched or been eliminated, and all teams have a chance to advance on the final day.

It all comes down to the last round of group stage games:

South Korea vs. Germany — Wednesday, June 27, 10 a.m.

Mexico vs. Sweden — Wednesday, June 27, 10 a.m.

Germany does not control its own destiny entering the last round of group play. With a win over South Korea, they can advance with either a loss or draw by Sweden against Mexico. Germany can advance with a draw against South Korea, if Sweden loses to Mexico. In the event that both teams achieve the same result, Germany will need a superior goal differential to Sweden in order to advance. In the event that Germany beats South Korea and Sweden defeats Mexico, then Germany, Mexico, and Sweden will all head to the goal differential tiebreaker.

In the event that the group ends with teams even on both points and goal differential, it goes to all the other tiebreakers, which you can read about in our handy tiebreaker guide.