Sane strike not enough as Germany fall 2-1 to Ecuador

Germany began brightly but were undone by defensive lapses, losing 2-1 to Ecuador. Leroy Sane opened the scoring after Alex Pavlovic won the ball from a throw-in, clipped Pedro Vite's face in his kicking motion, and Florian Wirtz fed Sane, whose finish stood despite Ecuador's protests.

Nilson Angulo levelled from 20 yards for Ecuador, their first goal of the tournament, and the rest of the first half descended into a slog with few chances. Early in the second half Germany thought they had a penalty when Kai Havertz was scythed down, but the referee pulled it back because of a foul in the buildup.

Ecuador's second came when Kevin Rodriguez jumped a little higher than Jonathan Tah and Gonzalo Plata stretched further than Manuel Neuer to poke the ball into the net, sending the pro-Ecuador crowd into the final 45 minutes. Nagelsmann had rotated most of his starters and the bench proved largely ineffective; Germany chased the game but never found a coherent response.

Germany

germany, ecuador, leroy sane, nilson angulo, kevin rodriguez, gonzalo plata, florian wirtz, kai havertz, jonathan tah, manuel neuer