27 June,2026 09:01 AM IST | New York | Ada Khan
Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata (No. 19) shoots to score the winner against Germany on Thursday. Pic/AFP
What seemed to be the worst-ever FIFA World Cup campaign for Ecuador suddenly turned into their best campaign within minutes.
With just one point from two previous games (Ecuador lost 0-1 to Ivory Coast and drew 0-0 with Curacao) and after conceding an early goal to Germany at the New York New Jersey Stadium here on Thursday, the La Tri Ecuador were staring at an early exit. However, the passionate Ecuador fans, who outnumbered the Germans in the stands, kept up their Spanish chant âSi, se puede' (yes, we can), and eventually the players delivered a shocking 2-1 win over four-time champs Germany to qualify for the round of 32.
Leroy Sane (2nd min) sent Germany ahead before Nilson Angulo (9th min) netted the equaliser, and Gonzalo Plata (77th) eventually poked the ball past Germany's veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for a famous win that Ecuador fans are calling the âMiracle in New York.'
The stadium erupted at the final whistle as the Ecuador substitutes ran onto the pitch from the bench. There were tears all around, among fans, players and even the team's support staff members.
"This is a miracle because we have won an impossible game. Germany is so good, but we had our players in better positions today," Antony F, an Ecuador resident, who has travelled here to watch his team's league matches, told mid-day moments after Ecuador became the only South American side besides Brazil and Argentina to beat Germany at a World Cup.
Bettina Aldaz and Mary Abril, two more Ecuador fans, who have travelled all the way here from their country, couldn't stop jumping in celebration. "It was disappointing when we failed to score a single goal in our first two games, but today we scored two against a great team. I've been supporting this team all my life and will do so even more now," said Aldaz.
"Our defence was good throughout, but we couldn't score. But we miraculously did it when it mattered most," said Abril.
Franklin Benjamin, an Ecuadorian fan, who lives in Brooklyn, was simply proud to see his country's heroes in the flesh. "Stars like Willian Pacho and Moises Caicedo, who play in European leagues, are popular back home, along with veteran Enner Valencia. I'm sure Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata will also become household names now," said Benjamin.
Hero of the match Plata said the team was hungry to succeed. "This is beautiful. We suffered too much in the first two games.
Maybe we could've qualified sooner, but it's better this way. We arrived with hunger and had to show it," said Plata.
Two
Number of times Ecuador have entered the knockouts; they made the last 16 in 2006
1 min, 49 sec
Time taken by Leroy Sane to score the opening goal on Thursday - the second-fastest by a German after Ernst Lehner (25 seconds) in 1934
