06/25/26 05:10:00
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06/25 17:09 CDT Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany
2-1 on Plata's 77th-minute goal
Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany 2-1 on Plata's
77th-minute goal
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Gonzalo Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer
in the 77th minute, and Ecuador advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup
by rallying for a 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday.
Germany, which clinched first place in Group E with victories in its first two
games, went ahead on Leroy San's second-minute goal. Nilson Angulo scored
Ecuador's first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute.
Plata, who took a kick to the head when Germany scored its early goal, keyed
Ecuador's great escape after Pedro Vite's corner kick was nodded on by Kevin
Rodrguez. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who came out of
international retirement for the World Cup, was about the grasp the ball when
Plata raised his left foot and with a toe put the ball into the net.
Ecuador finished third in the group with four points and advanced past the
group stage for the second time, the first since a round of 16 game in 2002.
Germany's winning streak was stopped at 11 games, one shy of the team record
set in 1979-80. The four-time champion Germans will play their round of 32 game
Monday at Foxborough, Massachusetts, most likely against Paraguay, Australia or
Sweden.
FIFA said the crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium for the World Cup's 56th game
boosted attendance to a record 3,587,539 for the tournament, one more than the
52 matches for the 1994 tournament in the U.S.
San put Germany ahead about 1 minute, 50 seconds in with his 18th
international goal. Aleksandar Pavlovic had chested the ball and kicked Vite
following Nathaniel Brown's throw-in but there was no foul call by American
referee Tori Penso. Pavlovic passed to Florian Wirtz, who centered to San just
inside the penalty area.
Angulo scored a short time later after Felix Nmecha lost the ball in midfield
to Vite. He passed it to Angulo, who dribbled toward goal and beat Neuer to the
far post from just outside the area.
Penso originally awarded Germany a penalty kick less than 30 seconds into the
second half after Joel Ordez took down Kai Havertz, but after a video review
ruled San had first fouled Vite.
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