Ecuador stun Germany with a comeback to reach the World Cup knockouts
Ecuador came from behind to beat group winners Germany 2-1, Gonzalo Plata's late strike sealing a heroic win that sends them into the last 32 for the first time since 2006.
Sí se puede. Yes we can. The chant rang out from a sea of 55,000 yellow shirts in New York, and Ecuador answered it in the most dramatic fashion, coming from behind to beat Germany 2-1 and book their place in the World Cup knockout rounds. It was a night of raw emotion and an upset few outside that stadium believed possible.
The task could hardly have been harder. Ecuador had to win against a full-strength Germany to progress, and the early signs were ominous. Leroy Sane struck after just two minutes to put the group winners ahead, the kind of start that can break a side's resolve before it has even settled.
Instead, it galvanised them. Ecuador responded almost immediately, with Angulo levelling the scores inside seven minutes to silence any German thoughts of a comfortable evening. The equaliser changed the mood entirely, turning anxiety into belief among the yellow-clad masses in the stands.
From there it became a contest of nerve, and Ecuador held theirs. The decisive moment arrived in the 77th minute, when Gonzalo Plata produced the golden touch his side needed, firing home the winner to spark wild, emotional celebrations. A flat start to their campaign was forgotten in an instant.
The result carries real weight beyond the scoreline. Ecuador go through as one of the best third-placed teams, securing their first knockout appearance since 2006 and ending a long wait to return to the latter stages of a World Cup. For a nation that had threatened to exit early, it is a stirring revival.
For Germany, the defeat is a blemish rather than a disaster. Already assured of top spot in the group, Julian Nagelsmann's side had less riding on the result, but losing to a team fighting for its life will sting, and it offers a reminder that even the favourites can be undone when an opponent plays with this kind of desperation and belief.
The manner of the win, a comeback under enormous pressure against elite opposition, is exactly the sort of performance that can fuel a tournament run. Sides that survive nights like this, on emotion and resolve, often carry that momentum into the knockouts and become dangerous to face.
Ecuador will savour this one long after the final whistle. Against the odds, in front of their own roaring support, they delivered. For every result and the shape of the last 32, follow the latest football news.