Undav double rescues Germany in added time as Ivory Coast push Nagelsmann's side to the brink

Group E clash of leaders

Both Germany and Ivory Coast arrived at BMO Field in Toronto with opening wins: a 7-1 demolition of Curacao for Julian Nagelsmann’s side and a late 1-0 victory over Ecuador for the African champions. Ivory Coast had also beaten France 2-1 in a pre-tournament friendly, signalling they would be a far sterner test than the minnows Germany faced first. Ahead of the match, Nagelsmann praised the Ivorian attack:

“They have an excellent defence. In all three forward positions they have great speed. In their last match it was hard to keep up with Nicolas Pepe — he was everywhere.”

First-half controversy

Germany started at a high tempo, but their early pressure yielded only disallowed goals. In the 21st minute, Aleksandar Pavlović bundled the ball over the line from a corner, only for Paraguayan referee Juan Gabriel Benítez to rule out the effort for a foul on goalkeeper Yahia Fofana. Nine minutes later, Ivory Coast took a shock lead. Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old winger, danced down the left and delivered a cross that caused chaos in the box; Franck Kessie pounced on the rebound after Amad Diallo's shot was blocked and drilled the ball past Manuel Neuer. Germany thought they had levelled in the 39th minute when Kai Havertz finished, but Benítez again disallowed the goal, this time for a foul by Jamal Musiala on Odilon Kossounou.

Undav turns the tide

Nagelsmann sent on three substitutes on the hour mark, among them forward Deniz Undav. The change paid off eight minutes later when Nadiem Amiri delivered a precise cross into the box and Undav swept the ball home for the equaliser, his second goal of the tournament. Both sides pushed for a winner as the match entered its final stages, with Ivory Coast bringing on fresh legs including Nicolas Pepe and Evann Guessand.

Dramatic finale

Deep into added time, Felix Nmecha slid a pass through the Ivorian defence, and Undav kept his composure to fire past Fofana and set off German celebrations. The 2-1 victory confirmed Germany’s place in the knockout round with a perfect start in Group E. Ivory Coast remain on three points and will need a result in their final group match to advance.