21.6.2026
Germany survived an Ivorian scare in their second group E match on Saturday coming from behind to win 2-1 in injury time.
The German players were over the roof with the win after struggling to break the Cote d’Ivoire Elephants for most of the game; Franck Kessie had shot them in front in the 30th minute.
But Deniz Undav came from the bench to score a brace that brought Germany out of jail to book their spot in the knockout stages with a game in hand against Ecuador.
Speaking on the high-tension game German coach Julian Nagelsmann told DFB in an interview: “Every win is worth three points, but a victory like that can sometimes mean more than a comfortable one. “Everyone knew how important that moment was.
“The whole team celebrated together in the corner after the winner, which was great to see. It can give us a real boost. Hopefully there are a few more wins like that to come.
We gave absolutely everything. The substitutes turned the game around for us. We didn’t close them down quickly enough for their goal and failed to deal with the danger, but these things happen.
“We became braver as the game went on. The players were prepared to take risks because they wanted to win, and that is exactly what you want to see. I’m absolutely delighted for them.”
He said the technical crew will sit down and evaluate the next game against Ecuador and see if there would be a rotation of the squad.
“The coaching staff and sporting director Rudi Völler will discuss whether we need to make any changes because of the players’ workload. At the same time, we need to stay sharp for the games ahead. We’ll probably try to strike a balance between the two.”