2 min readJun 26, 2026 03:34 AM IST
With their fans chanting ‘Sí, se puede’ (meaning ‘yes, we can’) in the stands at the New York New Jersey stadium, Ecuador stunned four-time champions Germany 2-1 to secure their spot in the Round of 32 at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday.
Despite the defeat, Germany will still stay on top of Group E while Ecuador will likely qualify as the third-placed team from the group.
In a game where Germany took the lead in the second minute itself, thanks to a goal from Leroy Sane, Ecuador levelled in the ninth minute, through Nilson Angulo before a 78th minute winner from Gonzalo Plata. When Angulo curled the ball through the legs of Aleksandar Pavlovic, beyond the desperate dive of Manuel Neuer, it was the South American nation’s first goal at the ongoing FIFA World Cup after they had taken 39 shots in their opening two games but without scoring.
Ecuador’s second goal, from Plata, came off a corner when he snuck ahead of his marker and stuck his boot out to nick the ball into goal half a second before Manuel Neuer’s gloves could grab at it.
Ecuador are now in the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup for the second time following their run to the round of 16 in 2006.
Coming into the clash with Ecuador, Germany had suffered just three defeats in their last 16 encounters (winning 11 games and drawing two). But despite their campaign starting with the heavy 7-1 victory over Curacao, Germany have not been able to keep a single clean sheet so far with the recently un-retired Manuel Neuer under the bar for the Germans.
In fact, the game against Ecuador was the nine successive World Cup game where Germany have leaked a goal.