29-Year-Old Forward Makes History for Germany Moving on in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Team Germany trailed 1-0 to the roaring Ivory Coast after halftime, on the brink of leaving points on the table. However, head coach Julia Nagelsmann made the proper adjustments, and his team dug deep, winning 2-1 for the right to move on to the Round of 32 off the back of a pair of goals from forward Deniz Undav. After coming off the bench, Undav’s second goal came in the 94th minute of action, off an assist from Felix Nmecha. The kick sent the German fanbase, which was sitting right behind the Ivory Coast’s goal, into a frenzy as Die Mannschaft will move out of the group stage into the second round for the first time since they won it all in 2014. With another wonderful 2026 World Cup match in the books, here are a few things that both teams can keep an eye on in the coming days.
Ivory Coast Can Move On-but Can They Really Make More Noise?
The momentum of the game has been a huge factor for the Ivory Coast this summer. After the Elephants kept a clean sheet against Ecuador last week and kept the Germans out of the net for a whole half on Saturday, it appeared as if the momentum would ride the Ivory Coast all the way to an outright Group E victory. Unfortunately for head coach Emerse Faé and company, they’ll have to be satisfied with the chance of moving on to the knockout round for the first time in World Cup history. All momentum now rides on a match between Ivory Coast and Curaçao next Thursday, where captain Franck Kessié’s squad will be favored to win. However, Saturday’s result now pigeonholes the Ivory Coast into playing the runner-up of Group I, which will either be Kylian Mbappé and Team France or Erling Haaland’s Norway, as the best-case scenario. The collapse in the second half against Germany has already sent Côte d'Ivoire down a harder path, and should they lose once more against Curaçao, the collapse might be one of the most infamous moments in national team history.
Why Not Germany?
Outside of Team USA and Team Mexico, not many clubs, as of Saturday, can say they are in a better position to make real headlines this summer than Germany. Undav is currently tied with Jonathan David of Canada and the great Argentinian Lionel Messi for the tournament lead in goals, and the Germans have outscored their opponents 9-2 in two group stage games. With one game left in group play, Nagelsmann’s squad will be favored to move to 3-0 against the Ecuadorians, and from there, there is a path for the Germans to emerge as a real threat to the betting favorites. Regardless of whether it will be Team Scotland or Team Japan on the other side in the next round, all the momentum once gathered by the Ivory Coast in Group E will shift to Deutschland, if it hasn’t already. After the Americans dominated Team Australia on Friday, the talk of the tournament has centered around whether the host nation should be the dark horse team that wins it all, but with Germany showing major mental strength on Saturday, it seems that they should also be in the championship conversation as well.
