Germany 2-1 Ivory Coast: Undav 68, 90+3; Kessie 30
Will Deniz Undav start now for Germany? Julian Nagelsmann’s side looked set for a frustrating afternoon after Franck Kessie’s first-half goal gave Ivory Coast a deserved lead, but the striker came off the bench with a brace that turned things around.
He now has three goals and two assists from two substitute appearances and is clearly a high-level forward. He was also bright for Germany during the warmup matches before the tournament but Nagelsmann does not appear to rate him.
Undav’s first came midway through the second half as he turned in a clever cross, before firing the winner four minutes into added time when it looked like the west Africans were going away with a draw as a reward for their disciplined performance. Now Germany have six points from six games and will advance to the knockout stages.
That is not an achievement to scoff at for the four-time world champions, who will be reaching that stage for only the first time in 12 years, having exited at the group stage in 2018 and 2022, the former as last in their group behind Sweden, Mexico, and South Korea.
Ivory Coast, on the other hand, will hurt after missing out on a point at the death but they are still in contention to qualify for the knockout stages. They will now seek a favourable result against Curaçao in their final group match.
Germany had overwhelmed Curaçao 7-1 in their opening fixture and began with similar intensity here at the Toronto Stadium. Kai Havertz threatened within seconds of kick-off and later forced an excellent save from Yahia Fofana, while Jamal Musiala and Aleksandar Pavlovic also tested an Ivorian defence that initially struggled to contain Germany’s movement.
Despite the early pressure, Ivory Coast gradually settled into the match and began to exploit space on the counterattack. Their breakthrough arrived in the 30th minute when Yan Diomande surged down the left and delivered a dangerous cross. The ball was caught between Amad Diallo’s legs at close range but he managed to prod it towards goal. The effort was blocked by Nathaniel Brown but then the loose ball fell kindly for Kessie, who swept home.
Germany thought they had responded before the interval when Havertz finished after excellent team play, only for the goal to be ruled out after Musiala was judged to have fouled Odilon Kossounou in the build-up.
Their west African opponents then further threatened in the second half. Diomande remained a constant danger on the flank and Christ Inao Oulai should have punished Germany, who struggled to regain control.
Nagelsmann was animated on the touchline for most of the game, like an American dad attending his first soccer game to cheer on his promising 10-year-old. Except by the hour he had seen enough and did a triple substitution, bringing on Nadiem Amiri, Jamie Leweling and Undav for Aleksander Pavlovic, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala.
Eight minutes later, two of the three subs combined to deliver the equaliser. Amiri was given space on the right and he ran to whip in a cross that Undav tipped beyond Fofana. Germany regained control and pushed forward relentlessly after, although Ivory Coast were not to be ignored on the break. Simon Adingra could have restored his side’s lead but he hesitated.
As the game entered stoppage time, Fofana produced further saves to deny Brown and Amiri, but Germany finally found the breakthrough when Felix Nmecha threaded a pass into Undav inside the penalty area. Germany’s man of the moment controlled and pulled off a turn-and-shoot technique to finish into the corner.
