South Korea exited the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday despite defeating Germany 2-0 in a result which also saw the defending champions eliminated from the tournament. 

Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min each scored in second-half stoppage time of the Group F match in Kazan to seal the shock win for South Korea. 

However, the result was not enough for the Taeguk Warriors to progress to the last-16 stage of the World Cup as Sweden defeated Mexico in the other game in the group which was being played at the same time. 

In order to qualify for the knockout round, South Korea had to beat Germany by at least two goals and Mexico had to defeat Sweden. 

While Team Korea managed to pull off the surprise win, Sweden easily beat Mexico 3-0 thanks to goals from Ludwig Augustinsson, Andreas Granqvist and an own goal from Mexico’s Edson Alvarez. 
 
The results mean that Sweden advanced to the last-16 stage as the group’s leader on six points, while Mexico finished in second to also progress.

South Korea finished in third spot with three points following two defeats and one win in its group matches, while Germany ended up in last spot. 

Despite suffering the disappointment of exiting the World Cup at an early stage, South Korea ended its campaign on a good note by proving its potential against the world’s top-ranked team.  

South Korea almost opened the scoring in the 15th minute after German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer fumbled a free-kick, but Neuer just managed to clear the ball ahead of Son.  Son then saw his powerful volley sail just wide of the goal in the 24th minute. 

Germany improved in the second-half, with South Korean goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo making superb saves several times. Cho pushed aside Leon Goretzka’s header two minutes into the second half and also saved well from Mario Gomez in the 67th minute. 

However, it was Team Korea who opened the scoring as Kim Young-gwon netted from close range in the 92nd minute. Kim’s goal was initially ruled out for offside by the referee, before the video assistant referee review ensured it was awarded.  

Son completed his team’s victory as he took advantage of goalkeeper Neuer’s position out of goal to latch onto a long ball and score into an empty net.