Germany shocks Ivory Coast in World Cup classic as Undav stars

African side was oh so close to a monumental upset.

Published Jun 20, 2026  •  4 minute read

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav celebrates his team's victory at the end of the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026. Photo by Cole Burston /AFP via Getty Images

A massive contingent of Germany fans came out in force in downtown Toronto on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, expecting to see some World Cup magic.

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And that they did, just not the type they’d hoped for. At least at first.

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Who saw Ivory Coast opening the scoring and holding the lead for much of the day coming?

Or Germany’s touch of class rally to pull out a hard-fought, Group E-clinching, 2-1 victory in extra time on Deniz Undav’s second of the game?

Germany carried the play early on, but struggled to get by the stout defence of Ivory Coast. Goalkeeper Seko Fofana also had his moments, turning aside a low header to start, punching out another good chance later and making a couple of top class stops late in the second half.

But earlier, Ivory Coast’s two best chances were thwarted by a bad pass in close and a strong German block of a drive, respectively. Still, they didn’t sit back by any means against a heavily-favoured opponent either early, nor late.

Germany appeared to open the scoring in the 23rd minute, off a corner kick, but Fofana was taken out in the process while trying to grab the cross and drew the foul.

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The shock came when Ivory Coast wunderkind Yan Diomande kept the pressure on Germany and set up a great chance that was initially blocked by a German defender. The ball popped right to Franck Kessie for a tap-in though, and the building was left stunned.

The train ride to Toronto Stadium indicated how one-sided the support for Germany was going to be. Orange-clad backers were everywhere, Ivory Coast supporters not so much. One man sporting an orange shirt on the train near this scribe held a well-made replica of the World Cup trophy in his hands while another man asked if he thought he’d be able to take it into the stadium. “I hope so, or it’s a lot of work wasted,” the man holding the trophy said.

A lot of work wasted was a good way to describe Germany’s opening half Saturday.

Upset in the making?

An epic upset appeared to be in the making when a second potential German goal was waved off in the 39th minute due to another foul.

Germany held possession for 61% of the first half, but had trouble winning duels and both sides had two shots on goal. Fofana was the most hated man in the building thanks to a handful of big saves and several theatrical spills, though there were even louder boos for the FIFA-mandated hydration breaks.

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As the pressure on Germany mounted, they nearly broke through in the 66th minute when Havertz missed off a nice corner kick setup and it felt by then that the game was tilting their way.

Finally, Germany got on the board when Deniz Undav, part of a triple substitution just eight minutes earlier after the German manager had seen enough from his underwhelming starting XI, volleyed in a cross.

At last the partisan crowd could exhale and the stadium rocked — until another dastardly hydration break, FIFA’s latest reviled money-making scheme — drained the air out of the balloon a bit.

This was the third of six matches in Toronto this World Cup, but the non-Canada one that stood out when it was first revealed which games would be played here. Germany, ranked 10th in the world, is coming off a quarter-final loss to eventual champion Spain at Euro 2024 and is seeking to join Brazil as the only five-time World Cup champions (Italy also has four but will have to wait until next time to try for a fifth having failed to qualify). The Germans dismantled Curacao 7-1 in Houston last week.

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Meanwhile, Ivory Coast is a quality side as well, having not conceded a goal in going undefeated in African qualifying before upsetting France in a friendly, then shutting out Ecuador 1-0 in Philadelphia to open this tournament. The youngest side in the tournament has not played like it.

Diomande, already a star — in Germany for RB Leipzig, ironically, the second-youngest player to ever net a hat trick in the Bundesliga — was everywhere in the first half after being named man of the match in the opening 2-1 win against Ecuador.

Undaz’s winner came four minutes into extra time, not long after Ivory Coast had blown a glorious opportunity,

Road to redemption?

Both sides are seeking some redemption. Germany, in particular, having surprisingly flamed out early at the two most recent World Cups. With huge expectations following its 2014 win in Brazil over Argentina, Germany followed with one of its low points, finishing at the bottom of Group F in 2018, before also exiting in the group stage four years later because Japan upset Spain (even though Germany drew with Spain earlier).

Arguably good enough to win at home at Euro 2024, Germany lost to eventual champion Spain, before being shocked by Slovakia. The team eventually recovered and was unbeaten in 10 (including friendlies) since that defeat, including a 6-0 turnabout game against Slovakia and has now gotten through at least the first stage.

Ivory Coast had failed to even make the previous two World Cups, but was African champion in 2023 and is a potential continental power in the making with so much promising youth on its side. They had nothing to be ashamed about after this one.

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