Germany will finish Group E in first place, followed by Ivory Coast in second place and Ecuador in third place.
Published June 25, 2026
Ecuador continued their World Cup campaign with Gonzalo Plata’s winner scoring a memorable 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Germany, propelling the South American nation into the last 32.
Leroy Sane’s controversial goal in Thursday’s Group E game put Germany ahead after less than two minutes, but Ecuador hit back with a fine strike from Sunderland winger Nilsson Angulo.
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Plata’s close-range goal with 13 minutes left sparked wild celebrations among the mostly Ecuadorian crowd in New Jersey on Thursday, ensuring the South American team would advance to one of the top eight teams in third place.
Germany travels to Foxboro on Monday against another third-place team in a last-32 tie for their first World Cup finals since lifting the trophy in 2014.
Julian Nagelsmann was substituted twice due to injury, with Antonio Rudiger replacing Nico Schlotterbeck after the Borussia Dortmund defender was ruled out of the World Cup with ankle ligament damage.
David Raum replaced Nathaniel Brown at left-back, but despite his heroics in the 2-1 win over Ivory Coast, where he scored both goals, Nagelsmann resisted the temptation to start Deniz Undav.
Germany, who were already assured of finishing first in their group, took the lead after gaining just one point from their first two games, infuriating Ecuador, who are struggling to stay in the tournament.
Sane fired first after Florian Wirtz’s lay-off inside the area, but Ecuador were furious that an early foul was not awarded when Aleksandar Pavlovic caught Pedro Vite’s head with a high boot.
The decision to concede the goal infuriated Ecuador, who equalized seven minutes later when Angulo drilled past Manuel Neuer from 20 yards low after Felix Nmeka lost the ball in their own half.
Kai Havertz tested Hernan Galíndez’s header and thought he had won a penalty when Joel Ordonez tipped over the Arsenal striker in the box less than 30 seconds after half-time.
This time VAR intervened, much to Ecuador’s apparent relief, and Sane’s foul on Vite in the build-up led to the spot-kick being canceled.
At the same time, Nagelsmann introduced German super sub Unduff, who has scored three goals so far in this tournament, but Ecuador knew they had to be careful.
Enel Valencia’s fierce shot was parried away by Neuer, but some defensive confusion almost gave Ecuador a chance.
A mix-up between Neuer and Jonathan Tarr almost led to Kevin Rodriguez getting in, and a follow-up cross from Moises Caicedo was deflected wide by Plata.
Sane had a golden chance to put Germany back on top, but he meekly fired at Galindes and Ecuador made the most of the escape, with Plata rushing to the rescue.
Rodriguez flicked on a corner and Plata slotted home from Neuer, ending Germany’s 11-game winning streak and sealing Ecuador’s second place in the finals, prompting tears of joy from fans in the stands.
