Two goals in nine minutes for Ecuador vs Germany as World Cup clash gets off to a flying start
Germany’s final Group E match against Ecuador started with lightning as both teams found the net within nine minutes at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
Leroy Sane opened the scoring with a goal less than two minutes into the game before Nilson Angulo fired home a long-range strike as Ecuador’s crowd of around 50,000 fans breathed new life into the South American’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
It took just two minutes for Germany to open the scoring – but Sane’s goal was not to be.
Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz laid it on a plate for Sane to curl home inside the box with a ferocious finish that earned the Germans the highest points in Group E.
But Ecuador, who need a win to reach the round of 32, remain upset that Aleksander Pavlovic’s goal was missed in the build-up.
The midfielder’s foot rose to win the ball past Pedro Vite, who appeared to catch the defender in his tracks.
But when it looked like Ecuador – who really needed a win to progress – had had a long afternoon, La Tri finally opened their account in the tournament with a fine strike from Sunderland’s Angulo.
The midfielder held goalkeeper Manuel Neuer out with a fine strike from distance that put Ecuador well in the race for the round of 32, but they still went out as it was.
Angulo is Sunderland’s fourth top scorer in the competition after Granit Xhaka, Brian Brobbey and Wilson Isidor, with only Paris Saint-Germain (six) having found the net so far.
Where to watch Ecuador v Germany: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off on Thursday is at 21:00 BST (18:00 ET / 15:00 PT). In the UK, broadcast live on BBC One.
Live streaming on multiple devices is available via the BBC iPlayer app and the BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Ecuador v Germany stats
- Ecuador started the final as one of four countries with even goal difference in World Cup history, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland and East Germany.
- This is the fifth time that Ecuador has participated in the World Cup. They only reached the knockout stage in 2006, when they were eliminated by England in the last 16.
- Ecuador finished second behind Argentina in CONMEBOL qualifying, equaling their best ever campaign (also in 2002)
- They had the strongest defense in the division, conceded five goals in 18 games, and lost a few games (2 defeats, against Argentina and Brazil)
- Valencia scored three goals each in the 2014 and 2022 finals and was involved in more than half of Ecuador’s goals in the qualifiers, scoring six and assisting two.
- Sebastian Beccacece is the fifth to lead Ecuador in the World Cup; and three Colombians and two Argentines, including Beccacece
- Germany will enter the knockout stage for the first time since winning the World Cup 12 years ago
- They recovered from a 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their first qualifier of the campaign – their first defeat in World Cup qualifying – to win all of their remaining games in the campaign, capping off a 6-0 home win over The Falcons.
- Die Mannschaft won the tournament in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 but were knocked out by Bulgaria in the last eight when they were in the US 32 years ago.
- Manuel Neuer was part of the success of 2014 and has 126 games. Before these finals, the goalkeeper ended up playing for his country when they lost to Spain in the quarter finals of EURO 2024.
- This is Julian Nagelsmann’s first World Cup as head coach. At the age of 38, he is the youngest manager to manage a team in the 2026 tournament, the last coach to win the World Cup in 30 years was Cesar Luis Menotti with Argentina in 1978 (39).
Ecuador team news
Ecuador XI: Galindez, Hincapie, Ordonez, Pacho, Vite, Franco, Caicedo, Yeboah, Valencia, Plata, Angulo
Ecuador subs: Ramirez, Valle, Torres, Estupinan, Preciado, Porozo, Medina, Alcivar, Valencia, Paez, Minda, Castillo, Rodriguez, Caicedo, Arevalo
News of the German team
Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck is out of the final after injuring his left ankle against the Ivory Coast.
Deniz Undav has scored three goals from the bench and Havertz was put on the bench again.
Germany XI: Neuer, Rudiger, Tah, Kimmich, Raum, Pavlovic, Nmecha, Musiala, Wirtz, Sane, Havertz
Germany has signed up: Baumann, Nübel, Anton, Thiaw, Goretzka, Leweling, Gross, Stiller, Amiri, Ouedraogo, Woltemade, Beier, Undav
