Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 in their Group E finale on Thursday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Already through, Germany eased off, and Ecuador punished them.
Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 in their Group E finale on Thursday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Already through, Germany eased off, and Ecuador punished them.
Germany struck inside two minutes. A throw-in worked its way into the box and Leroy Sané finished past the Ecuadorian goalkeeper to silence a stadium packed with yellow.
Ecuador hit back in the 9th minute. Pedro Vite won the ball in the German half and fed Nilson Angulo, who drove in from over 20 yards and slotted his shot through the legs of Aleksandar Pavlović. Booked late in the first half for a foul on Enner Valencia, the Bayern Munich midfielder was later withdrawn at half-time for Angelo Stiller.
Then came the moment that defined how the night turned. Seconds into the second half, the referee pointed to the spot when Joel Ordóñez bundled over Kai Havertz inside the box, and for a heartbeat the favourites had their way back in. The replay showed Sané fouling Vite earlier in the move, and the penalty was scrubbed off before Havertz could set the ball down.
The winner came in the 77th minute, when Plata stretched out his left foot ahead of Manuel Neuer to poke home after Kevin Rodriguez flicked on a corner.
After this match, Ecuador finished Group E on four points and secured one of the eight third-place slots. Manager Sebastián Beccacece sprinted to the stands and climbed up to embrace his family, then danced on the touchline after the final whistle that . Days earlier he had admitted Ecuador's fans weren't happy with him following a 0-0 draw with debutants Curacao, a match where his family clashed verbally with supporters.
"I think we need to celebrate these moments," Beccacece said. "I'm thinking of the Ecuadorian people, 19 million people celebrating, hugging each other, having a beer and celebrating this historical victory."
Asked what qualification meant to him personally, he replied: "It is not what it means for me, it's about what it means for the people in Ecuador. So, please, let them enjoy this moment," before walking away. He also urged unity: "I invite everyone to keep united. That's what we did today."
Germany had already clinched top spot before kickoff after a comeback win over Ivory Coast and had scored nine goals across their first two games, the most in the tournament. As Group E winners they travel to Foxborough on Monday for a round-of-32 tie, their first World Cup knockout match since they lifted the trophy in 2014.
For Ecuador it is their first knockout-round appearance in 20 years, having gone out in the group stage in Qatar.
The turnaround follows a chastening start. La Tri arrived on a 19-match unbeaten streak, having qualified second only to Argentina, then lost to the Ivory Coast and were held by Curacao despite registering almost 30 shots in that match.
For Ecuador The win also came two decades after Ecuador's last World Cup meeting with Germany, a 3-0 loss in Berlin. This time the crowd at the 80,000-seat stadium was overwhelmingly behind the South Americans, who chanted "Sí se puede" as the clock ran down.
