{"id":110134,"date":"2026-06-26T15:18:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/ecuador-edge-germany-to-squeeze-into-world-cup-last-32-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T15:18:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T15:18:45","slug":"ecuador-edge-germany-to-squeeze-into-world-cup-last-32-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/ecuador-edge-germany-to-squeeze-into-world-cup-last-32-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecuador edge Germany to squeeze into World Cup last 32 | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n EAST RUTHERFORD: <\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ecuador squeezed into the last 32 of the World Cup with an upset 2-1 victory over Germany on Thursday as Ivory Coast ended Curacao’s fairytale campaign to seal their passage to the knockout rounds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A nailbiting Group E game between Ecuador and group winners Germany at the MetLife Stadium was settled 13 minutes from time, when Gonzalo Plata jabbed home the winning goal from close-range for the South Americans.<\/p>\n

Plata’s winner came after Ecuador had recovered after Germany took the lead from a controversial Leroy Sane goal after two minutes before equalising through Nilson Angulo.<\/p>\n

The result means Ecuador finished Group E with four points, guaranteeing them a place in the last 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n

Germany had already been assured of winning the group after wins over Ivory Coast and Curacao.<\/p>\n

Ivory Coast meanwhile sealed the runners-up spot in Group E after eliminating Curacao in Philadelphia, Nicolas Pepe scoring twice in a 2-0 victory. It is the first time that the west African nation have reached the knockout stage.<\/p>\n

Curacao, the smallest country by population ever to play in the World Cup, depart the tournament with one point to finish bottom of the group.<\/p>\n

The Group E games kicked off another packed slate of six games across the tournament on Thursday which will give more clarity to the shape of the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n

The United States have already clinched top spot in Group D and will be looking to end their first round campaign with a victory over already-eliminated Turkey in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

USA coach Mauricio Pochettino is expected to rest a number of players saying it was “unnecessary to take a risk” with Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun, who are facing suspension if they collect another yellow card.<\/p>\n

The US have not reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup since 2002, but a strong start has raised hopes they could go on a deep run on home turf.<\/p>\n

Australia and Paraguay square off in a battle for second place in Santa Clara. A draw would favour the Socceroos thanks to their better goal difference but would likely be enough to send Paraguay through too.<\/p>\n

Three-way battle in Group F\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Group F remains wide open with the Netherlands, Japan and Sweden still able to finish first.<\/p>\n

In Kansas City, the Dutch face a woeful Tunisia team that have suffered successive four-goal defeats and sacked their coach after the opening game.<\/p>\n

Herve Renard was parachuted in after Sabri Lamouchi’s dismissal in the wake of a 5-1 loss to Sweden but his arrival did nothing to change Tunisia’s fortunes, as a 4-0 defeat by Japan knocked them out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Japan are level with the Netherlands on four points going into their clash with Sweden in Arlington. After beginning the World Cup with a bang, the Swedes were hammered 5-1 by the Dutch.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Brazil clinched first place in Group C with a 3-0 win over Scotland in Miami, where Neymar made his first international appearance since October 2023.<\/p>\n

Scotland face an anxious wait to see if they scrape through as one of the eight best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n

Co-hosts Mexico sailed into the last 32 with a 3-0 defeat of the Czech Republic in an ebullient Estadio Azteca to wrap up a perfect Group A record.<\/p>\n

The biggest surprise was South Africa’s qualification for the first time in their history as they pulled off a shock 1-0 win against South Korea to grab second place in Group A.<\/p>\n

That set off late night celebrations in South Africa, with fans singing and honking vuvuzelas from 5:00 am, when the match finished.<\/p>\n

“There were fireworks outside and the celebration went on for more than an hour after the game,” Soweto resident Nandi Ntini, who was woken up by the din, told AFP.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EAST RUTHERFORD: Ecuador squeezed into the last 32 of the World Cup with an upset 2-1 victory over Germany on Thursday as Ivory Coast ended Curacao’s fairytale campaign to seal their passage to the knockout rounds. A nailbiting Group E game between Ecuador and group winners Germany at the MetLife Stadium was settled 13 minutes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/11782425525-0\/11782425525-0-640x480.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t