06/25/26 04:59:00
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06/25 16:58 CDT Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany
2-1 on Plata's 77th-minute goal
Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany 2-1 on Plata's
77th-minute goal
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) --- Gonzalo Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer
in the 77th minute, and Ecuador advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup
by rallying for a 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday.
Germany, which clinched first place in Group E with victories in its first two
games, went ahead on Leroy San's second-minute goal. Nilson Angulo scored
Ecuador's first goal of the tournament in the ninth minute.
Plata scored after a corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodrguez. Neuer, the
40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the
World Cup, was about the grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and
with a toe put the ball into the net.
Ecuador finished third in the group with four points and advanced past the
group stage for the second time, the first since a round of 16 game in 2002.
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