Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany 2-1 on Plata’s 77th-minute goal

June 25, 2026

(Ecuador's Pedro Vite celebrates Ecuador's Gonzalo Plata scoring his side's second goal against Germany during the second half of a World Cup Group E soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Thursday, June 25, 2026. AP Photo: Pamela Smith)

By RONALD BLUM, EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP):- Gonzalo Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute, and Ecuador advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup by rallying for a 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday.

Germany, which clinched first place in Group E with victories in its first two games, went ahead on Leroy Sané’s second-minute goal. Nilson Angulo scored Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute.

Plata scored after a corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodríguez. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the World Cup, was about the grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and with a toe put the ball into the net.

Ecuador finished third in the group with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, the first since a round of 16 game in 2002.

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