In a historic victory that secured their spot in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, Ecuador came from behind to defeat Germany 2-1 on Thursday in a memorable match in which they fought hard to clinch a win that Gonzalo Plata sealed in the final minutes.
Leroy Sané put the German team ahead in the 2nd minute, but Nilson Angulo, seven minutes later, and Plata, off a corner kick in the 77th minute, secured three vital points for La Tri.
Beccacece’s offensive strategy paid off
The goals came at just the right time after the team failed to score in its 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast and its 0-0 draw with Curaçao in Group E.
Sebastián Beccacece’s team has thus avoided becoming one of the biggest disappointments of the group stage.
La Tri advances as one of the best third-place teams, with four points.
Germany, which had already secured first place before the game even began, took the field at MetLife Stadium lacking both enthusiasm and intensity.
Both Ecuador and Germany made only a few changes to their lineups from the second matchday.
Beccacece went on the offensive and fielded an attacking trio consisting of Nilson Angulo, Gonzalo Plata, and Enner Valencia.
John Yeboah also joined the fray as a surprise factor.
Nagelsmann made some adjustments to the defense due to Nico Schlotterbeck’s long-term injury.
Antonio Rüdiger, Real Madrid’s center back, came on as a substitute.
The other change was the substitution of David Raum for Nathaniel Brown—who was also dealing with physical issues—at left back.
The controversy sparked the match between Ecuador and Germany
The match began with a flurry of blows.
The Mannschaft scored the first goal on a controversial play.
Pavlović controlled a throw-in with his chest and raised his foot to the height of Pedro Vite’s head, who quickly threw himself to the ground.
The play continued; the Bayern Munich midfielder spotted Wirtz, who then found Sané, who fired a low shot to make it 0-1.
Vite stayed on the field, waiting for VAR to step in.
Although the decision by American Tori Penso was upheld amid fierce protests from the Ecuadorians.
Beccacece’s plan was falling apart.
However, it was Germany itself that took it upon itself to revive Ecuador’s plans.
La Tri’s goal came out of nowhere.
After a series of deflections, Angulo gained possession, drove toward the box, and unleashed a right-footed shot—not particularly on target, but hard.
Ecuador reacted after a goal mired in controversy
Pavlović was unable to block the shot by the Sunderland winger, and Neuer couldn’t stretch far enough.
Ecuador’s first goal in this 2026 World Cup came nearly 200 minutes into the tournament, against Germany.
The tie spurred Beccacece’s team on.
They began to believe that, for the first time in history, they could defeat the four-time world champion.
Yeboah pushed forward down the right. Rüdiger wasn’t Schlotterbeck. Plata and Enner tried to catch the defense off guard on the counterattack.
Meanwhile, the German team watched the minutes tick by.
We had absolutely no motivation, and on top of that, Pacho, Hincapié, and Ordóñez were outstanding. Only Havertz tried a header before halftime.
The second half got off to a scary start.
Nagelsmann’s team nearly earned a penalty after a foul on Havertz.
Although this time the VAR did intervene and alerted Penso to a foul by Sané on Vite at the start of the play.
From that point on, the game began to get bogged down with fouls and interruptions.
Sané and Angulo were the only ones willing to liven up the afternoon. Valencia tried a long-range volley but was denied by Neuer.
Plata sparked a frenzy and sealed Ecuador’s victory
Germany’s goalkeeper nearly gave Ecuador a reason to celebrate when he hesitated against Tah, a play that almost resulted in a goal.
Moisés Caicedo took a poor shot, and Plata, with everything going his way, failed to find the net again. Once again, his aim…
All that pent-up frustration was dispelled by Plata himself, who got just enough of a touch on the ball to finish off a corner kick at the near post.
MetLife collapsed, and Ecuador celebrated as if they’d won the title, with their fans in ecstasy; they’re in the round of 16 when few believed they would be.
Historic victory and ticket to the round of 32
NuevaOnda.com
Technical Specifications
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2. Ecuador: Hernán Galíndez; Alan Franco (64′, Angelo Preciado); Piero Hincapié (71′, Pervis Estupiñán), Joel Ordóñez, Willian Pacho; Pedro Vite, Moisés Caicedo, John Yeboah (85′, Félix Torres); Nilson Angulo (85′, Jordy Caicedo), Gonzalo Plata, and Enner Valencia (64′, Kevin Rodríguez).
Head Coach: Sebastián Beccacece.
1. Germany: Manuel Neuer, Antonio Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah, Joshua Kimmich (60′, Malick Thiaw), David Raum; Aleksandar Pavlović (46′, Angelo Stiller), Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz (73′, Pascal Gross) Felix Nmecha (64′, Maximilian Beier); Leroy Sané and Kai Havertz (60′, Deniz Undav)
Head Coach: Julian Nagelsmann.
Goals: 0-1, 2′: Sané. 1-1, 9′: Angulo. 2-1, 77′: Plata.
Referee: Tori Penso (United States). He issued yellow cards to Hincapié (43′) and Pavlović (44′), Alan Franco (50′), and Plata (89′).
Match details: Group E Matchday 3 game played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (United States) in front of 80,663 spectators.
With information from EFE
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