Sebastian Rudy to miss out as Germany seek two-goal victory vs. South Korea

Source: ESPN

Germany will be without injured midfielder Sebastian Rudy on Wednesday as they look to beat South Korea by two goals to avoid unnecessary complications on their way to the World Cup knockout stage.

Title-holders Germany have picked up three points from their first two group F matches against Mexico and Sweden. While El Tri lead the group on six points, Germany and Sweden have equal records.

The constellation could allow for the group coming down to fair play rankings or even a drawing of lots to determine those teams reaching the knockout stages. However, Germany can avoid such a scenario simply by beating South Korea by two goals or more.

And, speaking at his prematch news conference, Bundestrainer Low said that he does not want to be involved in a nailbiting finish.

"To be able to react if needed, I will be informed about the result of the Mexico versus Sweden match on the bench. But I am not laying out all scenarios in my head," Low said. "We must gain clarity in our own match.

"The most important thing will be our result, and we will hopefully by two goals. It'll come down to our performance. We must do all we can to do it in our own rights."

The 2014 World Cup winners will be without midfielder Sebastian Rudy, who underwent surgery for a broken nose suffered in the last-minute win against Sweden, and the suspended Jerome Boateng.

Centre-back Mats Hummels, returning from injury, will take Boateng's place in central defense, but Low did not give anything away on his starting XI against South Korea.

Sebastian Rudy broke his nose against Sweden.

Praising out-of-form Thomas Muller as a player "who looks ahead after two bad games, an important player for us," he added that both Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Juve's Sami Khedira showed a good reaction in training after remaining on the bench during the win against Sweden.

Regardless of his first XI, Low warned that Germany must avoid running into counters against South Korea. The world champions have conceded a goal in every match they played since November 2017, but Low believes his side is now on course.

"We were vulnerable to counter-attacks. We addressed this many times. And its not only something to do with the defense," Low said. "We were much better in the transition play against Sweden, twice better than against Mexico. We immediately tried to stop counter-attacks when losing possession, although it did not work out all the time.

"South Korea not only have Son Heung-Min, they have other players who are good on the counter. They love it. They attempt aggressive runs at you, much different than the Swedes. Up front they have three, four fast players.

"If we lose the ball, they have the chance to make deep runs. We must prevent that. Be alert. Son loves to make runs behind. Not losing possession too much would help us a lot."