\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t Ecuador booked its place in the 2026 World Cup knockout stages on Thursday with a stunning 2-1 victory over Germany, while Paraguay\u2019s 0-0 draw against Australia left the Albirroja waiting on results elsewhere to determine its fate.<\/p>\n
La Tri\u2018s chances of advancing appeared slim after an opening defeat to Ivory Coast and a draw against Curaao left the team needing what many viewed as a near-impossible result against Germany. However, with the Germans already assured of top spot in the group, Ecuador sensed an opportunity.<\/p>\n
The dream looked short-lived when forward Leroy San put Germany ahead just two minutes into the match. Ecuador responded quickly, with winger Nilson Angulo equalizing before the 10-minute mark and setting up a tense contest.<\/p>\n
The South Americans appeared to catch a break at the start of the second half when a penalty awarded to Germany was overturned because of an earlier foul in the buildup. Then, after several missed chances, forward Gonzalo Plata struck in the 77th minute to seal a famous victory and Ecuador\u2019s place in the round of 32.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players gave a great gift to the fans. I hope they celebrate and enjoy it,\u201d Ecuador coach Sebastin Beccacece said after the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I arrived, I\u2019ve felt like a better coach, and I owe that to Ecuador. I\u2019m grateful to the country and its people, and I\u2019m thrilled they can enjoy this win,\u201d said the Argentine manager.<\/p>\n
The celebrations extended beyond the pitch. Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared Friday a national holiday and announced the measure on social media following the team\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n
Paraguay await other results Paraguay also remains in contention for a place in the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n
The side coached by Argentine Gustavo Alfaro entered its final group-stage match against Australia knowing a victory would secure second place in Group D. Instead, the teams played out a scoreless draw, leaving Paraguay dependent on results in the remaining groups to advance as one of the best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n
Although Paraguay finished level with Ecuador on points, its inferior goal difference leaves it vulnerable in the rankings.<\/p>\n
The outlook remains favorable, however. Paraguay would only miss out if Belgium, Iran, Cabo Verde, Uruguay and DR Congo all lose their matches, while Algeria and Austria draw 1-1 or higher.<\/p>\n
Any other combination of results would send the Albirroja through to the round of 32.<\/p>\n
Uruguay face win-or-go-home clash That leaves Uruguay as the final South American side still fighting to secure a place in the next round.<\/p>\n
La Celeste face Spain on Friday at 9 p.m. Argentina time in a winner-takes-all encounter.<\/p>\n
A victory would guarantee qualification regardless of other results. A draw would leave Uruguay needing Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia to draw with fewer goals than its own match against Spain.<\/p>\n
A defeat, meanwhile, would mean elimination regardless of results elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Cover image: Seleccin Ecuatoriana Twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ecuador booked its place in the 2026 World Cup knockout stages on Thursday with a stunning 2-1 victory over Germany, while Paraguay\u2019s 0-0 draw against Australia left the Albirroja waiting on results elsewhere to determine its fate. La Tri\u2018s chances of advancing appeared slim after an opening defeat to Ivory Coast and a draw against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":82115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5063,779,66,1186,67,58,339],"tags":[5307,19818,1368,21221,1369,187,3576],"class_list":["post-82114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-2026-world-cup","category-ecuador","category-football","category-paraguay","category-sports","category-uruguay","category-world-cup-2026","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-ecuador","tag-football","tag-paraguay","tag-sports","tag-uruguay","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}