Germany Break Ivory Coast Hearts With Comeb…

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Germany booked their spot in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage with a late 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Saturday night.

Fixture: Germany v Ivory Coast
Score: 2-1
Goalscorers: Undav (68′, 90+4′) / Kessie (30′)

The encounter promised to be a lively one after both nations came into the clash on the back of opening day wins, with a place in the Last 32 and top spot in Group E up for grabs on the line.

The Germans were certainly in buoyant mood after thrashing Curacao 7-1 in their opening encounter last weekend, with Julian Nagelsmann’s charges dominating the ball in the early stages of the contest of the contest, although Ivory Coast remained resolute.

The Elephants then went on to silence their European counter-parts when a goal-mouth scramble in the box ended with captain Franck Kessie firing home from six yards out after Yan Diomande was given too much time down the left flank.

The two-time African champions were quite clear in their approach for most of the first half, as they allowed the Germans to dictate the play and denied them clear-cut openings, while they provided a real threat on the counter with Amad and Diomande.

Many would have expected Germany to come out for the second half and dominate in search of the equaliser, but the Elephants showed no desire to sit back and defend, with Amad seeing a lot of the ball down the right flank as he created a couple openings for Kessie and Diomande, both of whom could not convert.

Nagelsmann responded with a triple change on the hour mark for the Germans, withdrawing Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane and Aleksandar Pavlović for Jamie Leweling, Nadiem Amiri and Deniz Undav, who bagged two assists and a goal off the bench against Curacao.

The changes paid off for Nagelsmann as the Germans levelled matters in the 68th minute when Amiri’s superb cross found the run of Undav, who sent a first-time volley past Yahia Fofana for his second goal of the campaign.

The Germans completed the turnaround in the fourth minute of time added on when Undav completed his brace by collecting a pass Felix Nmecha before rifling the ball beyond Fofana to seal top spot in the group with a game to spare.

Key Performer:

Undav starred off the bench in Germany’s opening and he did the same against the Elephants with two goals to seal their spot in the knockout round.

Next Fixtures:

Germany: Ecuador

Ivory Coast: Curacao

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