Match Report
Nmecha sets up the winning goal: Germany celebrate a last-minute victory over the Ivory Coast
As in the 7-1 opening victory against Curaçao, the midfielder was in the German’s starting line-up and once again impressed with a strong performance in the centre of the park. Nmecha won numerous balls, time and again cleverly set up his teammates and led the way with his aggressive style of play.
However, Germany initially fell behind on Saturday evening as Ivory Coast captain Franck Kessié scored in the 30th minute to make it 1-0 for the West Africans. Even after the break, the German national team struggled for a long time before the substitutions made by German coach Julian Nagelsmann provided a new impetus. Substitute Deniz Undav scored the equaliser in the 68th minute to start turning the game around.
In stoppage time, Felix Nmecha finally made the decisive impact. The Dortmund player's perfectly timed through ball sent Undav clear. The substitute kept his cool in front of goal and slotted home the much-celebrated winner to make it 2-1 (90+4). For Nmecha, it was the match-winning assist that capped off yet another outstanding performance.
The evening did not go so well for Nico Schlotterbeck. The centre-back picked up an injury in a challenge after just under a quarter of an hour and had to receive treatment. The Dortmund player was substituted at half-time. Antonio Rüdiger came on in his place.
To round off the group stage, Germany face Ecuador on Thursday (22:00 CEST). The South Americans’ surprise 0-0 draw against Curaçao on Sunday has already secured the German side top spot in Group E early.
Daniel Svensson, however, was unsuccessful with Sweden. The Scandinavians lost 1-5 to the Netherlands in their second Group F match. Svensson did not feature and remained on the bench for the entire match.