World Cup 2026: Undav's late double sends Germany past Ivory Coast

Undav off the bench, Germany 2-1 in stoppage time

A reminder that substitutes win matches too. Germany beat Ivory Coast 2-1 at BMO Field in Toronto to close out their World Cup 2026 Group E campaign, and they did it the hard way. Franck Kessie put Ivory Coast ahead on the half-hour, and for a while the favourites looked rattled. Then Julian Nagelsmann emptied his bench, and Deniz Undav did the rest.

The numbers tell the story of control without conviction. Germany dominated possession with 60% of the ball, registered 1.89 expected goals (xG, a measure of chance quality) against Ivory Coast's 1.22, and created five big chances to two. They had seven shots on target; Ivory Coast had two. Yet for over an hour it was the side in 40% of the ball — sharp on the dribble, with 20 successful dribbles from 33 attempts — who led.

Undav settled it. His first, in the 68th minute, came from Nadiem Amiri's pass. His second arrived in the fourth minute of stoppage time, set up by Felix Nmecha, and there was no way back for Ivory Coast. Both teams finished on six points, but both are through.

Who Nagelsmann picked before he reached for the bench

From Kessie's opener to Undav's stoppage-time killer

Ivory Coast struck first. Kessie gave them the lead on the half-hour, and they took it into the interval with their game plan intact. Germany changed at the break, sending on Antonio Rüdiger for Nico Schlotterbeck — a switch that, per subsequent reports, was forced by injury rather than tactics.

The match turned on the hour. Nagelsmann made a triple change, with Leroy Sané, Undav and Aleksandar Pavlović all introduced. Eight minutes later Undav levelled, finishing off Amiri's assist. Ivory Coast responded with fresh legs of their own, rotating through their bench across the closing quarter, while Germany sent on Leon Goretzka late.

It looked like a draw. Then, deep into stoppage time, Nmecha found Undav and the substitute struck again to win it 2-1. A clean afternoon on the cards front — not a single yellow shown by referee Juan Gabriel Benítez.

Right winner, wrong scoreline by a single goal

The futbol.so community had this one read correctly — a clear consensus leaning towards Germany, with fans from Argentina to Colombia all pointing the same way. The most-chosen scoreline was Germany 2-0.

Close, but not quite. Germany got their two, and the winner, but Kessie's opener spoiled the clean sheet. The official forecast had Germany as comfortable favourites and tipped Germany 2-1 — which is exactly what landed. The community got the result; the model got the margin.

Video highlights

HIGHLIGHTS - Germany v Ivory Coast | Late drama! | FIFA World Cup 2026

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FULL REACTION to Germany’s LATE COMEBACK vs. Ivory Coast 🍿 2026 World Cup | ESPN FC

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Into the KNOCKOUTS | Deniz Undav scores LAST MINUTE goal to give Germany 2-1 win vs. Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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World Cup: Germany vs Ivory Coast

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Both Germany and Ivory Coast finish Group E on six points and both have reached the Round of 32, Germany topping the group on goal difference. Undav, the super-sub, walks away with the headlines and the match ball. The knockout draw awaits.