A surprise for Ecuador and a precedent for Ivory Coast.

Ecuador qualified for the Round of 32 in the 2026 World Cup in North America, after a surprising victory over Germany, which had already secured qualification, 2-1 on Thursday, while the Netherlands, Japan, Ivory Coast, Sweden, and Australia safely reached the next round, as the outlines of the knockout stages began to take shape.

The Netherlands finished the group stage with seven points after defeating Tunisia 3-1 to top Group F, two points ahead of Japan, which drew 1-1 with third-placed Sweden (4), allowing both to qualify together.

The Netherlands will now face Morocco, the fourth place team from the 2022 World Cup, on Monday in Monterrey, Mexico, in a fiery clash, while Japan will collide with Brazil, the group three leader, on the same day in Houston.

In an exciting match within Group E between Ecuador and the group leader Germany at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which will host the final on July 19, the result was decided 13 minutes before the end when Gonzalo Plata followed up on the ball from close range to give his team the victory 2-1.

Plata's goal came after Ecuador made a comeback, as Germany took the lead with a controversial goal from Leroy Sané just two minutes in, before Ecuador equalized through Nelson Angulo.

Ecuador finished the group with four points, securing its qualification as one of the best eight third-placed teams.

Ecuador's coach, Sebastián Pékerman (45 years old), said, "The importance of this victory is not for me, but for the people." The Argentine, who appeared emotional, added, "The players brought great joy to the hearts of the people. We need to enjoy and celebrate, please."

Germany had already secured the top spot in the group after winning against Curaçao 7-1 and Ivory Coast 2-1.

However, coach Julian Nagelsmann expressed his dissatisfaction with what he described as "tactical suicide" against Ecuador, saying, "We started the match wonderfully, but unfortunately, right after scoring, we began to make tactical mistakes in our positioning, which complicates things."

Ivory Coast secured second place in Group E after eliminating Curaçao in Philadelphia, where Nicolas Pépé scored the winning goals.

This is the first time the West African team has reached the knockout stages after three attempts between 2006 and 2014.

Ivory Coast's coach, Emerse Faé, said, "We have qualified; not everything was perfect, but this victory is good for morale. It’s a group that has grown a lot, works well, and there is a lot of solidarity, even among players competing for positions."