UNDF bails out Germany and drives cars to shock Ivory Coast ‘elephants’

Germany overcame their deficit against Ivory Coast to a dramatic 2-1 victory thanks to a late brace from Denise Ondav in the second round of their 2026 World Cup group stage, in a game that saw the Elephants crumble after a brave performance that nearly pulled them off a historic upset.

The Germans’ victory came after a decisive 60th-minute substitution by coach Julian Nagelsmann that completely changed the course of the match and turned Ivory Coast’s lead into a painful loss with a late goal by Franck Kessi (22nd minute).

Ivorian coach Emerson Fay made his attacking intentions clear with an ambitious game plan against Germany, who thrashed lowly Curaçao with 7 clean sheets in the first round, and it looked like his plan would actually work.

Ivory Coast is making good progress

The opening minutes of the match saw the Ivorians in clear control as Yann Diomande showed lightning speed from the wing, although his passes to striker Ange-Joan Bony were not always accurate.

On the other hand, goalkeeper Yahya Fofana stayed alert to prevent Kai Havertz from scoring (9th minute), but made a fatal mistake moments later in a challenge with German defender Pavlovic, who beat him in the air, but the goal was disallowed due to the mistake.

The match was fun and open as both teams attacked and created many chances, but the first goal deservedly went to Cote d’Ivoire.

The brilliant Diomande ran down the wing and passed the ball to Amad Diallo, who flicked the ball, which luckily came back to Frank Kessy, who finished off the attack with a superb side kick (22nd minute).

Germany exerts pressure in vain

The Germans’ pressure increased towards the end of the first half as Jamal Musiala was brought down outside the penalty area after a brilliant acrobatic performance and Florian Wirz caused chaos with every attack, with Haverz disallowed for offside (39th minute).

The Ivory Coast national team dominated the ball at the beginning of the second half and seemed to be on the way to a surprise, but Nagelsmann had a different opinion.

German replacements tip the scales

In the 60th minute, Nagelsman made an amazing tactical display, making 3 substitutions at once, which completely changed the course of the match.

Along with Jimmy Levelling, who was a constant threat on the wing, Nedim Amiri and Denise Undav were crucial in turning the score around.

Luling moved quickly from the wing and sent a low pass towards the far post to Unduff who easily equalized (68th minute) to take his tally to eight in just 11 appearances for his country’s national team.

Crazy last minutes

The final minutes of the match saw chances exchanged for both teams as Nathaniel Brown had a chance to make it 2-1 for Germany, but Fofana brilliantly blocked the ball (89th minute) as he did against Amiri (90th minute + 1).

Simon Adingra had a clear chance for Ivory Coast just seconds earlier, but he surprisingly chose to hold the ball rather than shoot straight after Pepe’s brilliant run proved decisive.

Undaff decides the match

In the closing minutes of stoppage time, Denise Onduff scored her second goal of the game to secure all three points for her country (min 90+4) in a hard break for Cote d’Ivoire who deserved at least a draw.

Germany strengthened their lead in the group with 6 points from two matches and officially qualified for the round of 32, while Ivory Coast were left with 3 points in a situation that still gives them a chance to qualify for the round of 32 but requires a win in their last group game.