* Ahead of tonight’s Group C match of the FIFA World Cup™ 2026
* Their first encounter was a friendly in November 2009 which saw Lukas Podolski score twice, including a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw
Maravi Express
Toronto Stadium in Canada will tonight host one of the most mouthwatering matches of the FIFA World Cup™ 2026 that sees four-time champions Germany facing a talented Côte d’Ivoire outfit kicking off at 22h00.
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This will be the two sides second meeting, whose first was a friendly in November 2009 which saw Lukas Podolski scoring twice, including a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw.
Both sides made a winning start to their Group E campaign, in very different ways, as Germany overcame an early scare against Curaçao to romp to a 7-1 win, while The Elephants eventually eventually pipped Ecuador 1-0 with a last-gasp goal, after the South Americans had hit the woodwork three times.
Côte d’Ivoire go in search of a 5th straight victory, and confidence is high after the Ecuador triumph last Sunday, which followed their 2-1 win against world number-three France in their final warm-up game in Paris on June 4.
Their last defeat came in the Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) Morocco 2025 quarterfinal match against Egypt in January.
Against Ecuador, The Elephants might have ridden their luck, but ending the South Americans’ 19-match unbeaten streak across nearly two years in their opening game caught the eye of their fan base and will have raised expectations.
Amad Diallo’s last-minute winner ensured Côte d’Ivoire have now won a game at all four World Cups for which they have qualified, and they can reach the knockout stages for the first time, if they defeat Germany.
Amad Diallo celebrates scoring the match-winning goal against Ecuador last week. (Picture credit: Reuters)
In fact, they can seal top spot in Group E should they win and Ecuador fail to beat Curaçao in the other group game to be played from 02h00.
A draw against Germany would make for an intriguing group finale on Thursday night, as it would likely leave all three teams in with a chance of finishing first going into the final game, with Côte d’Ivoire potentially needing to beat Curaçao by more than six goals to ensure supremacy on goal difference.
For Germany, after disappointing group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, they came into this tournament somewhat under the radar, with the perennial powerhouse ranked only seventh-favourites to lift their 5th World Cup.
While they turned on the style thanks to young stars like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz to pile on the goals against Curaçao – the smallest nation by size and population ever to have taken part in a World Cup – and the goals have flowed in 10 straight wins, this will be a far stiffer test.
Curaçao caused the German defence a few problems, especially in the opening half-hour, and it’s their pivotal central-defensive pairing of Jonathan Tah and Nico Schlotterbeck, playing in front of 40-year-old keeper Manuel Neuer, that will ultimately decide how deep the Germans can go in this tournament.
Dynamic Arsenal attacking midfielder Kai Havertz continued his recent goalscoring run for club and country with a double for Germany in the opening game, but he will likely find the Côte d’Ivoire defence a harder challenge than that posed by Curacao’s backline.
Kai Havertz has scored in four straight major tournaments for Germany, despite not being a recognised No 9. (Picture credit: Reuters)
By winning their group opener, Germany did what they couldn’t in 2018 and 2022 and appear certain to progress to a first knockout match since the 2014 World Cup Final. Whether they advance as group winners, or limp through in the minor places, might well come down to the result in Toronto.
A win against Côte d’Ivoire would secure direct top-two qualification to the Round of 32 and would likely be enough to top Group E should Ecuador fail to beat Curaçao in Kansas City.
In an alternate scenario, even with a German victory against Côte d’Ivoire , Ecuador – if they can beat both Curaçao and then the Germans in Thursday’s group finale – would make things very interesting, with the potential for three teams – Germany, Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador – to be locked on six points and tiebreakers needed to separate them.
It matters because the team finishing first will play a third-placed qualifier, while the runner-up will face the team finishing second in the group featuring France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq, and the team qualifying third would face a group winner, potentially England or Mexico.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – will proceed to Round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.—Reporting by Al Jazeera; editing by Maravi Express
Group stage results
Group A
Mexico 2-0 South Africa
South Korea 2-1 Czechia
Czech Republic 1-2 South Africa
Mexico 1-0 South Korea
Group B
Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Qatar 1-1 Switzerland
Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Canada 6-0 Qatar
Group C
Brazil 1-1 Morocco
Haiti 0-1 Scotland
Scotland 0-1 Morocco
Brazil 3-0 Haiti
Group D
USA 4-1 Paraguay
Australia 2-0 Turkiye
USA v Australia
Turkiye v Paraguay
Group E
Côte d’Ivoire 1-0 Ecuador
Germany 7-1 Curacao
Group F
Netherlands 2-2 Japan
Sweden 5-1 Tunisia
Group G
Belgium 1-1 Egypt
Iran 2-2 New Zealand
Group H
Spain 0-0 Cape Verde
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay
Group I
France 3-1 Senegal
Iraq 1-4 Norway
Group J
Argentina 3-0 Algeria
Austria 3-1 Jordan
Group K
Portugal 1-1 DR Congo
Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia
Group L
England 4-2 Croatia
Ghana 1-0 Panama
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