World Cup Nights: Undav rescues Germany late, Curacao make history

A night of goals and drama at the Cup. In Toronto, Germany came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 with a brace from substitute Deniz Undav, booking their place in the knockouts. In Kansas City, Curacao — the smallest nation ever at a World Cup — held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw thanks to 15 saves from Eloy Room, claiming the first point in their history. In Group F, the Netherlands (5-1 over Sweden) and Japan (4-0 over Tunisia) ran riot. Tonight it is the turn of Groups G and H.

At Toronto's BMO Field, Germany had a scare but still punched their ticket to the round of 32. Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessie put his side ahead on 30' and they led for almost an hour, until Julian Nagelsmann threw on Deniz Undav: the Stuttgart striker equalised on 68' with a volley from a Nadiem Amiri cross and then, on 94', conjured the winner with a clinical left-foot strike from the edge of the box. It finished 2-1, and Germany are back in the knockout stage for the first time since 2014. Undav is also just the fourth player in World Cup history to score both the equalising and winning goals as a substitute in the same match.

The real feat of the night, though, belonged to a goalkeeper and an island of 150,000 people. At Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium, Curacao — the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup — held Ecuador to a 0-0 draw and claimed their first-ever World Cup point. The hero was Eloy Room, who made fifteen saves (six in the first half alone): Ecuador finished with fifteen shots on target without scoring, something not seen at a World Cup since 1966. In the Curacao dugout sits Dick Advocaat: at 78, he is the oldest coach in the tournament's history, and his smile at the final whistle was worth as much as a win. 'Let's be proud we made it,' he kept saying; and asked how he would look back on all this in fifty years, he offered a line that quickly went viral: 'I'll be long gone!' he laughed. For Ecuador, it now means they must beat Germany on the final matchday to stay alive.

Group F, by contrast, was pure spectacle. At Houston's NRG Stadium the Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1: Brian Brobbey struck a lightning brace (5' and 17', the fourth-fastest in tournament history), then after the break Cody Gakpo added two in seven minutes (47' and 54'). Anthony Elanga pulled one back on 59' off an Isak through ball, but Crysencio Summerville made it five on 89'. In Monterrey, meanwhile, Japan crushed Tunisia 4-0 to knock them out: Daichi Kamada opened after just four minutes — Japan's fastest-ever World Cup goal — before a brace from Ayase Ueda (31' and 83') and a strike from Junya Ito (69'). Japan became the first Asian side to score four goals in a single World Cup match. The Netherlands and Japan are surging towards the knockouts; Herve Renard's Tunisia are out.

Tonight the stage shifts to Groups G and H for their second round of fixtures. It starts at 6pm Italian time in Atlanta with Spain-Saudi Arabia (Group H); at 9pm, at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, Belgium take on Iran in Group G. At midnight in Miami, Uruguay meet surprise package Cape Verde, while at 3am in Vancouver, New Zealand-Egypt closes the night. Spain and Belgium are chasing early qualification; for Cape Verde, another first-time debutant, it is a chance to follow the Curacao fairytale.

On we go, one night at a time. See you tomorrow at dawn.

TransferBeat aggregates transfer news citing the original sources. Developing story.