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Germany and Ivory Coast aim to seal World Cup knockout place: All to know

Who: Germany vs Ivory Coast
What:ย FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match
Where: Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Canada
When: Saturday, 4pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: Keep up with all updates onย Al Jazeera Sport

One of the most mouthwatering matches in the second round of games in the World Cup 2026 group stage sees four-time champions Germany facing a talented Ivory Coast outfit in Toronto on Saturday evening.

Both sides made a winning start to their Group E campaign, in very different ways, as Die Mannschaft overcame an early scare against Curacao to romp to a 7-1 win, while The Elephants eventually pipped Ecuador 1-0 with a last-gasp goal, after the South Americans had hit the woodwork three times.

Kai Havertz is all smiles after his second goal against Curacao
Kai Havertz has scored in four straight major tournaments for Germany, despite not being a recognised No 9 [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]

Germany under the radar?

After disappointing group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, Germany came into this tournament somewhat under the radar, with the perennial powerhouse ranked only seventh-favourites to lift their fifth World Cup.

While they turned on the style thanks to young stars like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz to pile on the goals against Curacao โ€“ the smallest nation by size and population ever to have taken part in a World Cup โ€“ and the goals have flowed in 10 straight wins, this will be a far stiffer test.

Curacao caused the German defence a few problems, especially in the opening half-hour, and itโ€™s their pivotal central-defensive pairing of Jonathan Tah and Nico Schlotterbeck, playing in front of 40-year-old keeper Manuel Neuer, that will ultimately decide how deep the Germans can go in this tournament.

Dynamic Arsenal attacking midfielder Kai Havertz continued his recent goalscoring run for club and country with a double for Germany in the opening game, but he will likely find the Ivory Coast defence a harder challenge than that posed by Curacaoโ€™s backline.

By winning their group opener, Germany did what they couldnโ€™t in 2018 and 2022 and appear certain to progress to a first knockout match since the 2014 World Cup Final. Whether they advance as group winners, or limp through in the minor places, might well come down to the result in Toronto.

A win against Ivory Coast would secure direct top-two qualification to the Round of 32 and would likely be enough to top Group E should Ecuador fail to beat Curacao four hours later in Kansas City.

In an alternate scenario, even with a German victory against Ivory Coast, Ecuador โ€“ if they can beat both Curacao and then the Germans in Thursdayโ€™s group finale โ€“ would make things very interesting, with the potential for three teams โ€“ Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador โ€“ to be locked on six points and tiebreakers needed to separate them.

It matters because the team finishing first will play a third-placed qualifier, while the runner-up will face the team finishing second in the group featuring France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq, and the team qualifying third would face a group winner, potentially England or Mexico.

Matchday 4 โœ”๏ธ#FIFAWorldCup

โ€” FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 15, 2026

Pivotal match as Ivory Coast seek history

The Elephants might have ridden their luck, but ending Ecuadorโ€™s 19-match unbeaten streak across nearly two years in their opening game caught the eye of their fan base and will have raised expectations.

Amad Dialloโ€™s last-minute winner ensured Ivory Coast have now won a game at all four World Cups for which they have qualified, and they can reach the knockout stages for the first time, if they defeat Germany.

In fact, they can seal top spot in Group E should they beat Die Mannschaft and Ecuador fail to beat Curacao in the other group game later on Saturday evening.

A draw against Germany would make for an intriguing group finale on Thursday night, as it would likely leave all three teams in with a chance of finishing first going into the final game, with Ivory Coast potentially needing to beat Curacao by more than six goals to ensure supremacy on goal difference.


How does the group stage work?

Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curacao are in Group E.

They will play each other once in the initial stage of the tournament. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups โ€“ along with the eight best third-placed teams โ€“ will proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.

Head-to-head

This will be just the second meeting between Germany and Ivory Coast.

The previous game was a friendly in November 2009, which saw Lukas Podolski score twice, including a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw.

Form guide:

(Last five games, latest match first)

Germany: W-W-W-W-W

Ivory Coast: W-W-W-W-L

Germanyโ€™s thumping win over Curacao last Sunday means they have won 10 straight games going back to September 2025 and have scored two or more goals in nine of those matches.

They have, however, struggled at the opposite end of the pitch, conceding goals in seven straight World Cup matches, their longest run since 1970, and their last clean sheet came in the 2014 final against Argentina in Brazil.

Ivory Coast go in search of a fifth straight victory, and confidence is high after both the Ecuador triumph last Sunday, which followed their 2-1 win against world number-three France in their final warm-up game in Paris on June 4.

Their last defeat came in the AFCON quarterfinal against Egypt in January.

5 - Last night for @equipenatciv vs Ecuador, Yan Diomande became the first player Opta has on record since 1966 to create 5+ chances (5), make 5+ tackles (5), win 10+ duels (11) and have 10+ touches in the oppositionโ€™s box (12) in a FIFA World Cup match.

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Star. pic.twitter.com/F98Hg8NvV1

โ€” OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 15, 2026

Team news: Germany

Coach Julian Nagelsmann might well keep faith with the same XI that eventually put Curacao to the sword, but if he does, it might be tough on Deniz Undav.

The Stuttgart forward came off the bench to replace Jamal Musiala with 26 minutes to go and scored and provided two assists as Germany picked up their biggest win since the 2014 semifinal against Brazil. The versatile Undav has scored seven times and added four assists in just 10 appearances for Die Mannschaft.

Team news: Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae likely has more decisions to make.

Elye Wahi started the win over Ecuador up front before being replaced just before the hour by Ange-Yoan Bonny.

He was initially denied entry into Canada for this match due to visa complications. He was linked to a sports betting scandal while playing for Nice in Ligue 1 last month, but has since been authorised to travel and could yet be involved.

Bonny and unused subs from the first game, Oumar Diakite and Evann Guessand, are alternative options in attack.

Diallo came off the bench to win it, and the Manchester United attacking midfielder will be pushing to start, which might mean a switch of flanks for teenage starlet Yan Diomande, who stole the show on the right against Ecuador and will be eager to put on a show against the nation in which he plays for RB Leipzig.

Germany predicted XI:

Neuer (goalkeeper); Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown; Pavlovic, Nmecha; Sane, Musiala, Wirtz; Havertz.

Ivory Coast predicted XI:

Y. Fofana (goalkeeper); Doue, Singo, Agbadou, Konan; Diallo, Kessie, S. Fofana, Diomande; Bonny, Toure.

You can follow the action on Al Jazeeraโ€™s dedicatedย FIFA World Cup 2026ย page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.

Iran to lodge complaint with FIFA over World Cup 2026 travel restrictions

Iranโ€™s 2026 World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA claiming they are being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament in North America, the Iranian football federation spokesperson said on Thursday.

โ€œDespite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iranโ€™s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staffโ€™s plans,โ€ the spokesperson said, according to AFP news agency.

Iran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before their next group match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday. But the Iranian federation claims its request was turned down.

Iran's players greet supporters after the 2026 World Cup Group G football match between Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on June 15, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand in their opening World Cup match on Monday in Los Angeles [Patrick T Fallon/AFP]

โ€œGiven that the game will be played at 12pm local time in Los Angeles, the football federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match,โ€ the spokesman said.

โ€œThe aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalise preparations.

โ€œDespite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied.โ€


ย 

After Iranโ€™s first World Cup game on Monday โ€“ in which they drew 2-2 with New Zealand in a politically charged encounter โ€“ US officials said that the team will have to leave the country within hours of the full-time whistle at their World Cup group games in Los Angeles and Seattle.

The response from the World Cup 2026 cohost nation came on Tuesday following criticism of its handling of the Iranian teamโ€™s visasย and stay in the US after their first game.

The Iranian delegation left the US hours after the match in LA ended at about 8pm local time (03:00 GMT) and returned to their base camp in Mexico, prompting criticism of the US handling of their visas, as the team did not get a day to recover at their hotel.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 15: Mehdi Taremi #9 and players of IR Iran walk out the tunnel for the warm up before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Richard HEATHCOTE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Mehdi Taremi #9 and other Iran players walk out of the tunnel for the warm-up before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday [Richard Heathcote/Getty Images/AFP]

โ€˜Match day minus one,โ€™ says US government

The US administration has pushed back against the Iranian claims.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said on Monday that Iran had been informed in advance that they would be allowed to come into the US only on the day before the game.

โ€œThe team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match,โ€ Giuliani told CBS News.

โ€œTheyโ€™ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And theyโ€™ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles.โ€

He added that the procedure would be the same for Iranโ€™s final group game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran, who are in Group G, kicked off their campaign this week in North America after months of uncertainty over the teamโ€™s participation in the World Cup amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

Werld Cup 2026: South Africa grab 1-1 draw with Czechia with late penalty

South Africa scored โ a โ penalty seven minutes from full-time as they fought โ back to draw 1-1 with the Czech โ Republic at the World Cup after falling behind early in the Group โ€ŒA clash.

Teboho Mokoena slotted home the spot kick after Pavel Sulcโ€™s handball handed the South Africans a lifeline on Thursday as they were staring โ at potential early โ elimination.

The Czechs led from the sixth minute when Michal Sadilek struck โ home after a clever slipped โ pass from Alexandr โ Sojka following Adam Hlozekโ€™s delivery from the right wing.

Both teams now โ€Œhave a point after losing their respective opening games โ€“ two behind cohosts Mexico and South Korea, who face-off later on Thursday.

South Africa next face South Korea, while the Czech Republic take on the daunting task of playing Mexico in the Estadio Azteca.

Both sides started with disappointing performances and defeats on the World Cupโ€™s opening day, but the Czechs quickly set about making amends.

Patrik Schick is the biggest name in a Czech side lacking the star quality of previous generations but the Bayer Leverkusen forward missed a glorious chance inside the first minute when he planted a header wide.

Miroslav Koubekโ€™s men only had to wait another five minutes to take the lead.

Adam Hlozekโ€™s cross was classily cushioned by Alexandr Sojka into the path of Sadilek, who calmly stroked the ball past Ronwen Williams.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group A - Czech Republic v South Africa - Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. - June 18, 2026 Czech Republic's Michal Sadilek celebrates scoring their first goal IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Nathan Ray Seebeck
Sadilek celebrates scoring for Czechia [Nathan Ray Seebeck/Reuters]

Now in their fourth attempt, South Africa have never progressed beyond the group stage at the World Cup.

Hugo Broos has overseen an upturn in Bafana Bafanaโ€™s fortunes since taking charge five years ago.

The 2010 hosts had not qualified for the World Cup since 2002 but finished third at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Their return to the global stage has exposed a lack of quality, though, particularly in forward areas.

The Czechs were left to rue not making more of their chances to kill the game off early in the second half.


Vladimir Darida took too long to get his shot off with a big chance before Lukas Cervโ€™s long-range effort was tipped over by Williams.

There were thousands of empty seats on show at the futuristic home of the NFLโ€™s Atlanta Falcons, but those that were in attendance loudly booed the mid-half hydration breaks in an enclosed and air-conditioned stadium.

The majority of the crowd were backing South Africa and finally had something to cheer seven minutes from time.

Thapelo Masekoโ€™s shot hit the arm of the unfortunate Pavel Sulc and referee Tori Penso, part of an all-female officiating team, pointed to the spot.

Mokoena confidently drilled home the spot-kick for his nationโ€™s first World Cup goal in 16 years.

They came close to a second five minutes later when Matej Kovar saved from Relebohile Mofokeng.

But both sides had to settle for a point that could yet prove vital come the end of Wednesdayโ€™s final Group A games.


World Cup 2026: Key takeaways from the opening group stage matches

A first-ever hat-trick for Lionel Messi, heavyweights Spain stunned by tiny Cape Verde, and DR Congo silencing Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal.

What more could you ask from the opening week of a FIFA World Cup?

After the first round of group matches, here are our top 10 takeaways:

Last dance? Perhaps not, Lionel Messi has more in store

Before the tournament kicked off in North America, many thought Lionel Messi would be gearing himself up for his final act. But after his first-ever World Cup hat-trick โ€“ one that also matched the record for most World Cup goals โ€“ Messi has reminded us his story is not over just yet.

Where is Cristiano Ronaldo? Portugal star goes missing

While the Messi mania dominated headlines over recent days, his longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, also made the news, albeit for the wrong reasons. โ€œIs he past his prime?โ€ was the collective question of viewers after his mostly anonymous display in Portugalโ€™s 1-1 draw with DR Congo on Wednesday.

There is no stopping Kylian Mbappe

Becoming Franceโ€™s all-time leading scorer always seemed a matter of when, not if, for Kylian Mbappe, and achieving the feat in their opening World Cup match was further proof of his extraordinary talent. The 27-year-old, now just two shy of matching the all-time haul for most World Cup goals, is making a habit of chasing records.

The Golden Boot race is taking shape

Long-range rockets, tap-ins, headers and more. There was no shortage of goals, and Argentinian legend Messi is the outright leader with three strikes. As many as seven players โ€“ including Englandโ€™s Harry Kane, Norwayโ€™s Erling Haaland and Franceโ€™s Mbappe โ€“ are tied for the second spot with two goals each.

epa13042896 Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrate scoring the 2-0 goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match Argentina against Algeria, in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 16 June 2026. EPA/AMY KONTRAS
Lionel Messi has taken the early lead in the race for the Golden Boot, an award handed to the tournamentโ€™s highest goal scorer [Amy Kontras/EPA]

The title favourites are having a hard time

This is, by far, the upset of the tournament. Spain โ€“ the absolute frontrunners for the World Cup โ€“ stumbled at their first hurdle, being held to a shock goalless draw by Cape Verde, the archipelago west of the African continent of about half a million people, and whose team sits 65 places below the World No 2 in the FIFA world rankings.

Do not write off DR Congo

Yoane Wissaโ€˜s first-ever goal, DR Congoโ€™s first at a World Cup, sparked joy among millions from Kinshasa to Niangara. And for the other teams competing in the tournament, the 1-1 draw with No 5-ranked Portugal sent a warning that the underdogs are out to challenge some of footballโ€™s best sides, especially when the world is watching.

Dear Curacao, welcome to the World Cup

The 7-1 thrashing by Germany did little to dampen the spirit of Curacao fans, many of whom made the journey to the United States. For the Caribbean tiny island โ€“ the smallest-ever country to play at a World Cup โ€“ defeat meant nothing in comparison to the happiness of seeing one of their own score at the sportโ€™s biggest stage. Livano Comenencia is a hero for all of Curacao.

Pink boots are everywhere

Pink seems to be the colour of the month, well, at least at the World Cup. Several players were seen wearing the vibrant, monochromatic boots โ€“ or cleats, as Americans would say โ€“ regardless of the manufacturer. Be it Nike, Adidas or Puma, sportswear giants have joined this trend of making their boots โ€œelectric fuchsiaโ€.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - Portugal v DR Congo - Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. - June 17, 2026 General view of the legs and boots of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo as he waits in the tunnel to start their warm up before the match REUTERS/Phil Noble
The Portugal team in the famous bright pink boots [Phil Noble/Reuters]

From beats to booze, fans bring the party to the World Cup

Itโ€™s safe to say a World Cup is the biggest celebration of football. And some countries just do it better than others.

With their green-and-yellow shirts, flags and pounding drums, Brazil fans brought a slice of Rio to New York, while Moroccans later joined the party, the red smoke from the flares lighting up the World Cup mood. In Boston, Scotlandโ€™s famous Tartan Army chugged pint after pint, nearly โ draining some pubs of all their beer in the first weekend during their World Cup occupation of the city.

Meet Mexicoโ€™s unofficial mascot: Merlin the duck

To best sum up the football craze in tournament co-host Mexico, the fandom is not limited to humans. ย A โ€Œdomesticated duck named Merlin, sporting a miniature Mexico shirt and custom โ duck socks, has โ waddled his way into the hearts of many, becoming an unlikely unofficial mascot for the countryโ€™s World Cup campaign.

Merlin, a duck wearing a Mexico national football team ('El Tri') jersey, that shot to fame after a chance encounter on Reforma Avenue went viral following the FIFA 2026 match between Mexico and South Africa, walks in Chinatown in Mexico City, Mexico, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Paola Garcia REFILE - QUALITY REPEAT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Merlin, a duck wearing a Mexico national football team (โ€˜El Triโ€™) jersey, shot to fame after a chance encounter on Reforma Avenue in the capital went viral following the World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 [Paola Garcia/Reuters]

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