World Cup 2014 Quarterfinals Recap, Video Highlights: Mats Hummels’ Header Leads Germany to 1-0 Win vs. France [Watch]
Germany will be playing in their 13th World Cup semifinal after Joachim Loew's side escaped with a 1-0 win against France in their semifinals showdown on Friday at the Maracana.
Mats Hummels was the hero of the match for Germany as the Borussia Dortmund center-back scored on a header in the 13th minute of the match off a well-executed free kick from Toni Kroos.
Hummels' game-winner was his second goal in this year's World Cup where Germany were considered as one of the early favorites to win the title.
France had a lot of chance to score in the match and they actually had a great opportunity early on, but Karim Benzema missed from the center of the box in the seventh minute of the match.
French midfielder Mathieu Valbuena also had a golden opportunity to score an equalizer in the 32nd minute when Antoine Griezman fired a perfectly timed cross to the left side of the box, but Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had an excellent save.
Benzema, who has scored four goals in this year's tournament, had another scoring opportunity in the 44th minute but was denied by Neuer once again. He had one more chance in the fourth minute of stoppage time, but Neuer had his fifth and probably the most important save of the match.
Germany, who also reached the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will face either Brazil or Colombia, who are set to collide at 4 p.m. EST, Friday.
Watch Hummels' game-winning header below. More highlights are available on this link.
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