Beccacece says Ecuador can beat anyone after Germany upset

Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford to reach the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup. Sebastián Beccacece told the squad to enjoy the moment and called it a victory for the Ecuadorian people after a group campaign that nearly ended before it began.

The path to that result was lined with pressure. Ecuador opened with a 0-0 draw against Curazao, then lost 1-0 to Costa de Marfil when Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute. In that debut against Costa de Marfil, Enner Valencia struck the crossbar twice and Gonzalo Plata forced a save from Yahia Fofana, signs that Ecuador had chances even when the results were against them. After the Curazao draw, Beccacece had already framed the situation in blunt terms: Ecuador still had “una vida más”.

That final life became a knockout punch against a heavyweight group opponent. FIFA had cast Group E as a severe test, with Germany arriving as a four-time world champion, Ecuador presented as a consolidated force in South America, and Curazao making its World Cup debut. FIFA also made the stakes plain before the decisive match: Ecuador needed to beat Germany to keep its tournament alive. Instead, it did more than survive. It won 2-1 and booked its place in the next round.

The result also fit a longer arc that had begun a year earlier in South American qualifying. Ecuador sealed its place at the World Cup on 10 June 2025 with a 0-0 draw against Peru in Lima, its fifth appearance at the tournament and its second in a row, according to CONMEBOL. That campaign ended with 25 points, a run of nine straight matches without defeat, and only one goal conceded in its last nine qualifying games. Those numbers explained why Ecuador arrived in the United States with a competitive base, even as the group stage threatened to expose every weakness.

Beccacece’s response after the Germany win was to savor the moment, not overstate it. The upset was the kind that can be dismissed as emotion in the middle of a tournament, but Ecuador’s route to East Rutherford suggested something sturdier: a side that had lived on the edge in its first two matches and still found a way to beat the group favorite when elimination was one result away.