Germany vs Ivory Coast, FIFA World Cup 2026 highlights: GER qualify for Round of 32 after Deniz Undav’s brace
FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Today highlights: Deniz Undav scored two goals after coming on as a substitute to hand Germany a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast and securing a Round of 32 spot at the ongoing FIFA Wordl Cup 2026 for the four-time champions with a game to spare. Undav’s goals flipped the script after the Ivory Coast were leading 1-0 at half-time in a game between the two previously unbeaten teams from Group E at the Toronto Stadium. Team captain Franck Kessie had scored for Ivory Coast in a game that saw two Germany goals get disallowed for fouls on the Ivory Coast players.
Undav has now scored nine goals for Germany in 11 international appearances. At the ongoing World Cup itself, he has racked up three goals from two substitute appearances, not to mention two assists.
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In their opening game, Germany had pumped six goals past a hapless Curacao after both sides were deadlocked 1-1 at one stage, to triumph by a 7-1 margin. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, snuck in a late goal past Ecuador to secure victory.
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World Cup: Germany look to rediscover Teutonic tradition of tournament-stompers
After thumping Curacao 7-1 in the opening game, Germany will take on Ivory Coast in the next game. (AP)
Germany is going through a cultural transition with multiculturalism at its forefront. Out of the 26 in the squad, 12 have immigrant backgrounds. At the forefront is Jamal Musiala, born to a German mother and a British-Nigerian father. When a team largely composed of immigrants falls, the public misconceives it as a failure of the immigrants.
The fans have more sporting reasons to worry. They bemoan the absence of a leader. Another tongue flexing German term they have— Führungsspieler (fuhrung = lead, spieler = player), embodied by the legendary Franz Beckenbauer, passed onto Lothar Matthäus, Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm. Joshua Kimmich is their inheritor, but he has not transformed into the powerful leader he was once touted to be. There was a time when he was labelled the next Toni Kroos, but he plateaued. A trustworthy passer and ball circulator, he is bereft of the command the aforementioned names exuded.
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