- Full Time
- G. Plata89'
- J. Caicedo on for N. Angulo85'
- F. Torres on for J. Yeboah85'
- G. Plata77'
- 73'P. Groß on for F. Wirtz
- P. Estupiñán on for P. Hincapié71'
- 64'M. Beier on for F. Nmecha
- Á. Preciado on for A. Franco64'
- K. Rodríguez on for E. Valencia64'
- 60'M. Thiaw on for J. Kimmich
- 60'D. Undav on for K. Havertz
- A. Franco50'
- 47'K. Havertz No penalty
- 46'A. Stiller on for A. Pavlović
- Half Time
- 44'A. Pavlović
- P. Hincapié43'
- N. Angulo9'
- 2'L. Sané
- Kick Off
-
1
Gonzalo Plata1 - 2
Leroy Sané1 - 3Nilson Angulo1
- 1Florian Wirtz3
- 2Gonzalo Plata2
- 3Leroy Sané2
- 1Pedro Vite6
- 2Joel Ordóñez3
- 3Pascal Groß2
- 1Kevin Rodríguez1
- 2Florian Wirtz1
- 3Pedro Vite1
- 1John Yeboah3
- 2Florian Wirtz2
- 3David Raum2
- 1Jonathan Tah94
- 2Antonio Rüdiger70
- 3Moisés Caicedo56
- 1Nilson Angulo4
- 2John Yeboah3
- 3Florian Wirtz3
- 1Willian Pacho4
- 2Pedro Vite2
- 3John Yeboah1
Ecuador managed to progress to the knock-out stages in dramatic circumstances, coming from a goal down to beat Germany in New Jersey.
Leroy Sane’s early goal seemed to have set Germany on the right path but Nilson Angulo equalised almost immediately before Gonzalo Plata scored a second-half winner to send the considerable Ecuadorian support into raptures.
The opening goal came very early and came for Germany. Lovely skill and link-up play from Aleksander Pavlovic and Florian Wirtz led to the Liverpool man pulling the ball back for Leroy Sane to sweep home.
The Ecuador defenders wanted a free-kick for a perceived high-foot on Pedro Vite in the build-up, but the referee waved away their complaints.
It didn’t take long for Ecuador to finally get off the mark at this World Cup though. Vite pounced on a poor touch by Felix Nmecha to prod the ball into the path of Nilson Angulo. The winger became the fourth Sunderland player to score in the tournament by firing a powerful right-footed effort through Pavlovic’s legs and into the bottom corner.
Ecuador’s desperation to get the much-needed second goal was evident, but so was Germany’s superior quality. Mannschaft had a great chance to retake the lead through Kai Havertz, but his header was straight into the hands of the grateful Hernan Galindaz.
Less than a minute into the second half and Germany were awarded a penalty when Joel Ordonez brought down Havertz in the box. However, the decision was overturned after the VAR spotted a foul in the build up, letting el Tri off the hook.
But could they take advtange? Enner Valencia had an ambitious volley beaten away by Neuer. Not long after, a defensive mix up between the German goalkeeper and Jonathan Tah almost allowed Kevin Rodriguez to steal in, but the low cross that came as a result was diverted just wide by Gonzalo Plata.
Finally, on 77 minutes, Ecuador got the reward for all their work and it was that man Plata who took advantage. A fine corner was flicked on by Rodriguez and Plata was able to beat the struggling Neuer to volley in from close range and put el Tri into a hard-earned and deserved lead.
Unsurprisingly, it was near constant German pressure from there. The in-form substitute Dennis Undav fired a shot into the side-netting
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