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Germany finished Group E in first place despite a 2-1 loss to Ecuador, while Ivory Coast won 2-0 against Curaçao and advanced to the knockout stage as second.
Ecuador and Ivory Coast secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup knockout stage after the final matches of Group E. Germany, despite being defeated by Ecuador, retained first place in the group, while Ivory Coast finished second thanks to a victory over Curaçao.
Ecuador pulled off a major coup
At the New Jersey Stadium, Ecuador pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, defeating Germany 2-1 and securing qualification as one of the best third-place teams.
Germany, who had already secured top spot in the group with six points, started the match in ideal fashion. Leroy Sané put the "Panzer" ahead in the second minute, giving the impression that Julian Nagelsmann's team would easily control the challenge.
However, Ecuador reacted immediately. In the ninth minute, Angulo equalized after an assist from Vite, while the team led by Sebastián Beccacece took control of the game and dominated the first half, significantly limiting the initiative of the Germans.
In the second half, Ecuador continued to apply pressure. Gonzalo Plata missed a good chance in the 74th minute, but four minutes later he took advantage of another insecurity by Manuel Neuer and scored the winning goal.
With this success, Ecuador reached four points and secured a place in the knockout stage as one of the eight best teams ranked in third place.
lineups
Ecuador (Sebastián Beccacece) : Galíndez, Incapié (71' Estupiñán), Ordóñez, Pacho, Vite, Franco (64' Preciado), Moisés Caicedo, Yeboah (85' Torres), Valencia (64' Rodríguez), Plata, Angulo (85' J. Caicedo).
Germany (Julian Nagelsmann) : Neuer, Rüdiger, Tah, Kimmich (60' Thiaw), Raum, Pavlović, Musiala, Wirtz (73' Gross), Sané, Nmecha (64' Beier), Havertz (60' Undav).
Nicolas Pépé's two goals send Ivory Coast into the next stage
In the other group match, Ivory Coast defeated Curaçao 2-0 in Philadelphia and secured second place with six points.
The absolute protagonist was striker Nicolas Pépé, who opened the scoring in the seventh minute after an assist from Ousmane Diomandé. Although Curaçao created several chances and the game remained open throughout the first half, the score remained unchanged until the break.
In the second half, the African team cleverly managed the advantage, leaving more space for their opponents and counter-attacking. In the 64th minute, Pépé scored the second goal after an assist from Sangaré, sealing the victory and qualification.
In the knockout stage, Ivory Coast will face the team that will be ranked second in Group I, which will be France or Norway, depending on the result of the match between them.
On the other hand, Curaçao ended its first ever participation in a World Cup with one point in three matches.
lineups
Curaçao (Dick Advocaat) : Room, Brenet, Gaari (77' Kastaneer), Obispo, Floranus, Fonville (77' Noslin), Chong, Comenencia (61' Antonisse), Leandro Bacuna, Juninho Bacuna, Locadia.
Ivory Coast (Emerse Faé) : Fofana, Doué, Kossounou, Ousmane Diomandé, Opéri, Sangaré, Kessié (77' Seri), Diallo (46' Oulai), Jean Diomandé (67' Touré), Nicolas Pépé (67' Wahi), Boni.
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