Ecuador’s victory over Germany this Thursday (25), in New Jersey, guaranteed the South Americans third place in Group E.
With the result, the Ecuadorians advance to the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup for the second time in five appearances.
The triumph in the duel against the Germans, in the third and final round of the group stage, had even more meaning for coach Sebastián Beccacece’s team.
The Ecuadorians had not beaten a European team in FIFA World Cup matches for 20 years — the last one was against Poland, on June 9, 2006, in the first round.
Since then, five clashes against Europeans have made the Ecuadorians’ path to the World Cup difficult: two defeats against Germany and England, in 2006; a setback for Switzerland in 2014; and two draws with France and the Netherlands, in 2014 and 2022, respectively.
If the scenario seemed catastrophic for Ecuador against the Germans, this Thursday, the team led by Julian Nagelsmann had quite a record in their favor — Germany had not lost to a South American since 2002.
German fans under 24 were not alive when Ronaldo Nazário, nicknamed Fenômeno, beat Oliver Kahn twice and scored the Brazilian goals in the final, at the Yokohama stadium, in Japan.
Germany’s defeat to Brazil in the fifth championship campaign had been the last against South Americans in the World Cup. In the following editions, six duels against opponents from South America, with five wins and one draw.
In addition to the historical symbolism, the Ecuadorian victory broke the Germans’ unbeaten record in this World Cup.
Until then, there were two victories for the team of Neuer, Sané and a great squad — over Curaçao and Ivory Coast. Against the Caribbean, the score ended in a German rout: 7 to 1. Against the Africans, a more modest result: 2 to 1.
Despite tonight’s defeat, Germany advances to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup in first place in Group E. They will face a third-placed team that comes out of groups A, B, C, D or F.
To meet their rival in the next stage, Nagelsmann’s team will have to wait until the conclusion of the third stage games, scheduled for Saturday (27).
With the current results, Opta Analytics projections indicate that Bosnia is Germany’s most likely opponent in the 32nd round.
