TORONTO — Deniz Undav scored twice after being subbed in during the second half as Germany defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 on Saturday and clinched a spot in the knockout phase at the World Cup for the first time since 2014.
Undav’s first goal of the match came after Nadiem Amiri sent in a long ball, which striker Kai Havertz didn’t collect, to Undav, who slammed it into the back of the net at the 68th minute. Amiri and Undav had subbed in eight minutes earlier.
Four-time champions Germany have come back from disappointing group stage exits in 2018 and 2022, while Ivory Coast are still searching for their first knockout stage appearance and could still qualify. The last time Germany got past the group stage was in 2014, when they won the tournament.
Their goalkeeper on that occasion, Manuel Neuer, made more history Saturday, making his 21st World Cup appearance to surpass France‘s Hugo Lloris as the goalkeeper with the most games played in the competition.
Germany, who beat Curaçao 7-1 in their opening game, join co-hosts Mexico and the United States in claiming a berth in the last 32.
Undav, who also scored off the bench in that opening win, is the fourth player in World Cup history to score tying and winning goals as a substitute in the same match.
Germany will face Ecuador in their final group game Thursday, while Ivory Coast take on Curaçao at the same time.
Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessié opened the scoring in the 30th minute at Toronto’s BMO Field after midfielder Yan Diomande sent in a cross to forward Amad Diallo. His shot was blocked by Germany‘s Nathaniel Brown, but the ball bounced back to Kessie, who slotted it in the open left corner of the net.
Germany had two goals waved off in a frustrating first half. The first was in the 21st minute, when Fofana batted the ball into his own net, but Germany midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic made illegal contact with Fofana on the play.
The second came in the 38th minute on a foul, as Jamal Musiala was called for contact on the build-up to what would’ve been a Havertz goal.
After a court fight to get into Canada, Elye Wahi, the Ivory Coast striker under investigation for alleged betting-related offenses while playing in France for Nice, did not play.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
