Undav's late double sends Germany into World Cup knockout stage with 2-1 win over Ivory Coast

Early pressure from Ivory Coast

The West Africans opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Franck Kessie, who slotted home the rebound after Manuel Neuer saved Amad Diallo's shot. Germany had a goal disallowed in the 25th minute when Aleksandar Pavlovic was deemed to have fouled goalkeeper Yahia Fofana. Another German effort was ruled out for a foul by Jamal Musiala, leaving the 2014 champions trailing at the break.

Undav's heroics off the bench

Julian Nagelsmann introduced Deniz Undav and Nadiem Amiri in the 60th minute, and the change transformed the match. Undav levelled eight minutes later with a controlled volley after a long ball from Amiri skipped past Kai Havertz. In the fourth minute of stoppage time he collected Felix Nmecha's pass and fired past Fofana to complete Germany's late turnaround.

Nagelsmann and players react

“I am very happy that we won the match. In the end, we deservedly won it.”

“This is a really important victory. We showed great character today.”

Defender Jonathan Tah praised the resilience:

“We had exactly what it takes to succeed in a tournament, a winning mentality, team spirit. We didn't give up; we just kept going.”

Undav's unorthodox rise

The 29-year-old striker's journey has been far from conventional. A BBC profile notes Undav once worked on a factory floor before catching on in professional football. He now has nine goals in his last eight international appearances and is tied for the most goals by a substitute in a single World Cup since 1966. Nagelsmann, who publicly criticised Undav earlier this year, now says he may start the group finale against Ecuador.

What comes next

Germany top Group E with six points and face Ecuador on Thursday in New Jersey, with first place still to be decided. Ivory Coast remain on three points and will meet Curacao still chasing their first-ever knockout-stage appearance.