Germany vs Ecuador Match Preview | OneFootball

Germany are through to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time since 2014. After winning the first two games, they are guaranteed to finish top of the group.

Meanwhile, Ecuador failed to win either of their games. They have to win this game, or else they will be heading home early like they did in 2022.

How will this game shape up? Let’s take a closer look.

Germany’s Previous Games

The Germans suffered back-to-back World Cup group stage eliminations in 2018 and 2022, so they wanted to make sure they don’t repeat the same mistakes this summer.

They started with a bang, beating Curaçao 7-1 in the opener. Six different players scored in that game, which shows that Germany have many guys who can step up and put the ball in the back of the net.

That was just a warm up for them though. Germany got a real test when they faced Ivory Coast in the following fixture. For the large stretches of the game, it looked like Germany were the second best team.

Thankfully, Julian Nagelsmann made the right substitutations. Denis Undav came in and scored two late goals to turn the game around and help Germany get three points.

Because of his goals, Germany are now going to top the group, and they can relax in the last match and give minutes to other players.

Ecuador’s Previous Games

Like Germany, Ecuador have also faced back-to-back World Cup group stage exits in 2014 and 2022. This year, the aim was to get to the knockouts and many people considered them dark horses because of the quality players they have.

Unfortunately, Ecuador’s quality doesn’t extend to the striker position. In the first game, they looked like a better team against Ivory Coast, but hit the woodwork twice.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t take advantage of their superior performance and ended up giving a late goal to the Ivorians.

In the second game, Ecuador failed to secure what many considered to be a “must-win” against tiny Curaçao. La Tri fired shot after shot since from the opening whistle, ultimately having 27 attempts with 15 on target, but they couldn’t get past Curaçao keeper Eloy Room. Now, they have only a slim chance to go through to the next stage. They have to beat Germany and then wait for other results.

Prediction

Luckily for Ecuador, Germany are already through as the winner of the group, which means they are likely to field a reserve side. So hopefully La Tri can take advantage of that.

Ecuador have shown they are capable of going toe to toe with top teams, they have enough quality to do that. The only issue is they are having trouble scoring goals. In the last two games, they have taken 39 shots and have scored no goals.

Against Germany, Ecuador can’t afford to make same mistakes in front of goal. It will be interesting to see if they will bench their captain Enner Valencia, who’s 36 and missed some key chances in the last game.

Although he’s a legend in Ecuadorian soccer, he’s faced a lot of criticism recently. With Ecuador lacking striker depth, they might have to rely on their center-backs or midfielders scoring from a set piece at this point.

Sill though, it will feel like a home game for them in New Jersey. Head coach Sebastian Beccacece knows he has to deliver, and Ecuador just might find a way to scrape through with a win and give themselves a chance to go through to the next stage.

Prediction: Germany 0-1 Ecuador