Germany faces Ecuador in final group match – Rüdiger makes first start

Two changes in Germany's starting lineup

In central defense, Antonio Rüdiger makes his first start of this tournament phase. He replaces Nico Schlotterbeck, who suffered a torn interior ligament in his ankle and was nonetheless seen at the stadium limping along the pitch on crutches. "Der BVB-Verteidiger hat sich entschieden, bei der Mannschaft zu bleiben und ihr abseits des Platzes weiterzuhelfen." Alongside Rüdiger, Jonathan Tah plays in the center. Joshua Kimmich defends on the right side of defense, while David Raum comes into the starting lineup on the left.

On the left wing, David Raum replaces the 23-year-old Nathaniel Brown, who is out with adductor problems. Brown, who according to reports is set to move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of 55 million euros and sign a contract there running until 2030, had made a name for himself with strong performances in the first two group matches. With seven caps for the German national team, he is nonetheless not part of the squad for the Ecuador match.

Rüdiger replaces Schlotterbeck – Brown missing injured

In defensive midfield, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Felix Nmecha are set. Ahead of them, Jamal Musiala plays behind center forward Kai Havertz, while Florian Wirtz takes on an offensive role in the left half-position. Leroy Sané plays on the right wing. Deniz Undav starts on the bench.

Ecuador under pressure: Beccacece facing the axe?

For Ecuador, this match is about the chance to advance, after the tournament has so far been disappointing for the South Americans. "Ecuador spielt bislang ein enttäuschendes Turnier." Following a last-minute defeat to Ivory Coast came a goalless draw against underdog Curaçao. Before the match against Germany, coach Sebastián Beccacece, who has been in charge of the team for just under two years, said: "Ich glaube fest an meine Spieler." At the same time, it is reported that he fears for his job if Ecuador does not reach the next round.

The Ecuadorians' output at this World Cup has been modest, with zero goals so far. The attack around veteran Valencia must score against the DFB team at least once. The South Americans' defense forms the backbone: Joel Ordonez, Willian Pacho, and Piero Hincapie defend at the back, with Moises Caicedo clearing up in front. "Das Quartett hat einen Marktwert von 263 Millionen Euro, was über 70 Prozent des gesamten Kader-Marktwerts sind."

The referee for the match is 39-year-old American Tori Penso, who is officiating her second game at this World Cup. In the 1:1 between Czechia and South Africa on the second matchday of Group A, she was "von sehr vielen Leuten für ihre starke Leistung gefeiert". German refereeing expert Patrick Ittrich described her performance as "mit Abstand besten Schiedsrichterleistung bis jetzt bei dieser WM". Penso is one of two female referees at the tournament, alongside 33 male officials.

Referee Penso with praise behind her

Germany's starting position is unusual: for the first time since 1934, first place in the group is secured before the final group match at a World Cup finals. "Das gab es bei Deutschland bei 20 WM-Turnieren seit 1934 noch nie: Platz eins ist gesichert vor dem letzten Gruppenspiel." Germany is therefore confirmed as group winner and qualified for the knockout stage. The round of 16 is scheduled for the following Monday; the opponent has not yet been determined and will be selected from a pool of eight candidates, narrowed down to five teams.

"Rein tabellarisch geht es zwar um nichts für das DFB-Team, doch wie wichtig die Partie trotzdem ist," according to the live ticker of the ARD Sportschau, which accompanies the match from 10:00 p.m. The match is also broadcast live in Austria by ORF. Nagelsmann thus faces the task of "die richtige Mischung zu finden zwischen Rotation und Turnierflow".

Historic situation for Germany

An unusual factor is added: at the Cologne Zoo, the approximately 4.5-tonne bull Tarak selected the balls with the team colors, first picking the Ecuadorian ball and last picking the German one. According to the zoo, Tarak had correctly predicted the outcomes of Germany's first two group matches.

Germany goes into the match as favorite as four-time world champion. Ecuador, after its performances so far, needs a win to keep any chance of advancing from Group E alive. For Beccacece, 45, it is also about his personal future as national team coach.

By bringing in Rüdiger, Nagelsmann is also opting for continuity in defense. The change is also a response to Schlotterbeck's injury, whose World Cup has ended prematurely. Schlotterbeck had decided to stay with the team and support them off the pitch.

Tarak from the Cologne Zoo tips Ecuador

In the German camp, it is meanwhile emphasized that the match does not lose significance despite the already secured top spot in the standings. Nagelsmann pointed out that the team has not played together all that often in this formation before the tournament and therefore needs more match practice. "Es macht für mich keinen Sinn, nur weil man zweimal gewonnen hat, den Weg zu verlassen." With this approach, the national team coach wants to carry over the rhythm of the first two victories.

When the teams walk out, players such as Pavlovic, Nmecha, and Wirtz will therefore be under particular focus, as they still need to find their feet in this distribution of roles. The match will also serve as a benchmark in terms of how well the German structures function against a deep-lying and defensively strong opponent.

Coverage begins on Thursday evening at 10:00 p.m. local time, in Germany on ARD and MagentaTV, in Austria on ORF. The Sportschau live ticker will accompany the match from the start. Radio broadcasts typically have around four to five seconds of delay, while TV and especially streaming broadcasts are more significantly time-delayed.

For Ecuador, which goes into the match as the underdog, a clear improvement in performance is required. The defense around Ordonez, Pacho, Hincapie, and Caicedo is considered the team's showpiece, but without goals even the strongest defense will not be able to help. The focus on the attack around veteran Valencia is therefore likely to be the decisive factor in the match.