{"id":183164,"date":"2026-06-25T18:43:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T22:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nuevaonda.com\/ecuador-upsets-germany-and-advances-to-the-round-of-32\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T19:12:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T23:12:03","slug":"ecuador-upsets-germany-and-advances-to-the-round-of-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuevaonda.com\/en\/ecuador-upsets-germany-and-advances-to-the-round-of-32\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador upsets Germany and advances to the round of 32"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a historic victory that secured their spot in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

Leroy San\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n

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Beccacece’s offensive strategy paid off<\/h2>\n
\"Ecuador
PHOTO: Ecuador National Team’s Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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 Cura\u00e7ao in Group E.<\/p>\n

Sebasti\u00e1n Beccacece’s team has thus avoided becoming one of the biggest disappointments of the group stage.<\/p>\n

La Tri advances as one of the best third-place teams, with four points.<\/p>\n

Germany, which had already secured first place before the game even began, took the field at MetLife Stadium lacking both enthusiasm and intensity.<\/p>\n

Both Ecuador and Germany made only a few changes to their lineups from the second matchday.<\/p>\n

Beccacece went on the offensive and fielded an attacking trio consisting of Nilson Angulo, Gonzalo Plata, and Enner Valencia.<\/p>\n

John Yeboah also joined the fray as a surprise factor.<\/p>\n

Nagelsmann made some adjustments to the defense due to Nico Schlotterbeck’s long-term injury.<\/p>\n

Antonio R\u00fcdiger, Real Madrid’s center back, came on as a substitute.<\/p>\n

The other change was the substitution of David Raum for Nathaniel Brown\u2014who was also dealing with physical issues\u2014at left back.<\/p>\n

The controversy sparked the match between Ecuador and Germany<\/h2>\n
\"soccer,
PHOTO: Ecuador National Team’s Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The match began with a flurry of blows.<\/p>\n

The Mannschaft scored the first goal on a controversial play.<\/p>\n

Pavlovi\u0107 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.<\/p>\n

The play continued; the Bayern Munich midfielder spotted Wirtz, who then found San\u00e9, who fired a low shot to make it 0-1.<\/p>\n

Vite stayed on the field, waiting for VAR to step in.<\/p>\n

Although the decision by American Tori Penso was upheld amid fierce protests from the Ecuadorians.<\/p>\n

Beccacece’s plan was falling apart.<\/p>\n

However, it was Germany itself that took it upon itself to revive Ecuador’s plans.<\/p>\n

La Tri’s goal came out of nowhere.<\/p>\n

After a series of deflections, Angulo gained possession, drove toward the box, and unleashed a right-footed shot\u2014not particularly on target, but hard.<\/p>\n

Ecuador reacted after a goal mired in controversy<\/h2>\n
\"Ecuador
PHOTO: Ecuador National Team’s Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pavlovi\u0107 was unable to block the shot by the Sunderland winger, and Neuer couldn’t stretch far enough.<\/p>\n

Ecuador’s first goal in this 2026 World Cup came nearly 200 minutes into the tournament, against Germany.<\/p>\n

The tie spurred Beccacece’s team on.<\/p>\n

They began to believe that, for the first time in history, they could defeat the four-time world champion.<\/p>\n

Yeboah pushed forward down the right. R\u00fcdiger wasn’t Schlotterbeck. Plata and Enner tried to catch the defense off guard on the counterattack.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the German team watched the minutes tick by.<\/p>\n

We had absolutely no motivation, and on top of that, Pacho, Hincapi\u00e9, and Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez were outstanding. Only Havertz tried a header before halftime.<\/p>\n

The second half got off to a scary start.<\/p>\n

Nagelsmann’s team nearly earned a penalty after a foul on Havertz.<\/p>\n

Although this time the VAR did intervene and alerted Penso to a foul by San\u00e9 on Vite at the start of the play.<\/p>\n

From that point on, the game began to get bogged down with fouls and interruptions.<\/p>\n

San\u00e9 and Angulo were the only ones willing to liven up the afternoon. Valencia tried a long-range volley but was denied by Neuer.<\/p>\n

Plata sparked a frenzy and sealed Ecuador’s victory<\/h2>\n
\"goal,
PHOTO: Ecuador National Team’s Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Germany’s goalkeeper nearly gave Ecuador a reason to celebrate when he hesitated against Tah, a play that almost resulted in a goal.<\/p>\n

Mois\u00e9s Caicedo took a poor shot, and Plata, with everything going his way, failed to find the net again. Once again, his aim…<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

MetLife collapsed, and Ecuador celebrated as if they\u2019d won the title, with their fans in ecstasy; they\u2019re in the round of 16 when few believed they would be.<\/p>\n

Historic victory and ticket to the round of 32<\/p>NuevaOnda.com<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n

Technical Specifications<\/h2>\n
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A post shared by FIFA (@fifa)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n