Schurrle & Ozil help Germany squeak past Algeria

Mesut Ozil scored the second against Algeria

Algeria gave Germany a big scare last night but the lack of a good final pass crushed them as Germany held on to win it in Extra Time.

Germany needed extra time to defeat a plucky Algeria 2-1 and set up a World Cup quarter-final showdown against France.

Joachim Low's men survived several scares throughout the 90 minutes of normal time in the last-16 tie in Porto Alegre, before Andre Schurrle and Mesut Ozil were on target at the start and end of extra time respectively.

There was still time for the Algerians to pull one back through Abdelmoumene Djabou in stoppage time but Germany were not to be denied their showdown against the French on Friday.

Algeria started the game brightly and had a good opportunity on nine minutes when Islam Slimani got clear down the left and beat Manuel Neuer to the ball as he rushed out of his area to try and clear. However the German keeper managed to get in a vital block tackle to deny the forward from converting into the empty net from an acute angle.

Germany's first attempt came in the 14th minute when Bastian Schweinsteiger hit a fierce drive which Rais M'Bolhi could only parry into the air before gathering at the second attempt.

Algeria quickly hit Germany on the counter attack and Sofiane Feghouli did well to get into the right of the German area but elected to fire over from a tight angle instead of trying to pick out El Arbi Soudani waiting in the middle for a tap-in.

On 17 minutes Faouzi Ghoulam whipped in a great cross from the left which eluded Jerome Boateng and found the head of Slimani who diverted the ball into the net only to be denied by an offside flag.

A minute later Ghoulam got on the end of a ball down the left of the area but curled his strike just wide of the far post.

Germany did test M'Bolhi on 24 minutes when he had to tip over a cross-shot from Ozil.

The Germans did start creeping in to the game as Ozil forced a parrying save from M'Bolhi before their best chance came on 41 minutes when the keeper pushed away a Toni Kroos strike only to then recover and block Mario Gotze's follow-up shot in the box.

Schurrle stepped off the bench during the interval and his first touch almost created a goal as his effort inside the area deflected off a defender and looped just wide of the far post. From the resulting corner Shkodran Mustafi got his head on to Kroos' cross but he headed straight at M'Bolhi

Both sides continued to press for a goal with Philipp Lahm curling a great right-foot strike from outside the area which M'Bolhi did well to push away for a corner on 55 minutes.

Algeria managed to get their second wind and they generated a couple of quick chances in the 75th minute as Feghouli hit an effort wide from the right of the area before Slimani fired straight at Neuer.

Five minutes later Germany should have taken the lead when Thomas Muller met a Sami Khedira cross in the middle but was denied by a brilliant save from M'Bolhi before Schurrle's follow up was blocked by Essaid Belkalem.

With no goals in normal time the Germans broke the deadlock in the second minute of extra time when Muller put in a low ball from the left of the box and Schurrle was on hand to score from close range.

On 101 minutes Algeria should have levelled when a corner dropped kindly to Mehdi Mostefa in the middle of the area but he somehow fired wide of the post with the goal gaping.

M'Bolhi then denied substitute Christoph Kramer as the clock ticked down but he could do nothing about Germany's second in the 119th minute. Ozil teed up Schurrle whose effort was blocked on the line by Belkalem so the Arsenal man did the job himself as he smashed the rebound into the net from close range.

There was still time for Algeria to get on the scoresheet as Djabou converted a Feghouli cross at the back post but it proved too little too late for the brave Africans.