Ecuador did everything it needed to do in the match against Germany. It won and advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup. Ecuador won 2-1 against Germany, the four-time world champion, on Thursday night in New Jersey.
"The CONMEBOL team overcame Germany and advanced to the group stage of the World Cup for only the second time in history, after a nearly similar feat in 2006," FIFA wrote after Ecuador's magnificent match.
Against the Germans, the Ecuadorians showed great fight on the field from the start of the match and won by a score of 1-0.
Leroy Sane scored in the second minute of the match for Germany. But it was goals from Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata that secured Ecuador the victory and third place in the group with four points.
Angulo was also named the best player of the match.
"The Ecuadorian striker wins this award after scoring a very beautiful goal in the first half, and was a great danger to the opposing goal throughout the match," FIFA wrote.
The eight best third-place teams from 12 groups will advance to the knockout stage of the expanded global tournament with 48 teams. With four points, Ecuador has secured a place among the top 32 teams for the 2026 World Cup, which is being held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Angulo scored for 1:1 in the ninth minute, while Plata scored for 2:1 in the 77th minute against veteran Manuel Neuer's goal.
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From Group E, Germany from first place and Ivory Coast from second place in the group also advanced. Both had six points accumulated in two matches.
Curacao has been eliminated from the World Cup after earning just one point from three matches, insufficient to advance further.
Curaçao were defeated 2:0 by Ivory Coast in the final group match. The goals for Ivory Coast in the seventh and 64th minutes were scored by striker Nicolas Pepe.
It is the first time that Ivory Coast has qualified for the knockout stage. Ivory Coast will play either Norway or France in the next round of the competition. Ivory Coast had been eliminated from the group stage in the previous three appearances.
