Ecuador will chase a tournament-saving win when they face Germany in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E match at the New York New Jersey Stadium on the evening of Thursday 25 June. Kick-off is at 10pm CAT.
Form
Ecuador entered the World Cup as one of the potential ‘dark horses’, thanks to their fine qualification campaign (in South America’s notoriously difficult programme they were second only to reigning world champions Argentina, and conceded just five goals in 18 matches), but the finals have gone awry thus far.
La Tri first suffered a heart-breaking loss to Ivory Coast in which they conceded the only goal of the game in the final minute of regulation time, followed by a frustrating goalless stalemate with debutants Curaçao. This has left them in third place in the group and in need of a win in their final match to have any chance of advancing into the knockout phase.
Germany, by contrast, have already secured top spot in Group E thanks to 7-1 and 2-1 wins over Curaçao and Ivory Coast respectively. In the former, Die Mannschaft ran riot and were obviously several levels above their opposition, while in the latter they were pushed much harder by the Elephants but prevailed on the back of a brace from super-sub Deniz Undav.
However, it has not been all good news for Germany, who will be without key defender Nico Schlotterbeck out for the rest of tournament due to a serious ankle injury.
What the teams are saying
Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece
“Life has taught me you have to always continue to work, always learn, and challenges can become opportunities. It is normal now to feel this pain, this disappointment, but this is not over yet. We have 100 minutes ahead of us, and we're going to be there in a sound way to try to reach our goals.”
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann
“We have high ambitions. The most important topic for us is to focus on the next step. This [having qualification already secured] is exactly what we hoped for and I'm very happy for the team.”
Players to watch
Ecuador – Moises Caicedo
The Chelsea midfielder has put in two solid showings at the World Cup, despite Ecuador’s struggles thus far. He will hope to keep up his high standard of play and inspire the South Americans to a famous win over Germany.
Germany – Deniz Undav
The 29-year-old VfB Stuttgart forward demonstrated his goal-scoring nous when he came off the bench and netted twice in Germany’s win over the Ivory Coast. Undav will hope that in this clash against Ecuador he is given the chance to play from the start.
Head-to-head
Germany and Ecuador have met in two previous matches, with Die Mannschaft winning both: 3-0 in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup, and 4-2 in a friendly in Florida in 2013.
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