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A fatal bite destroys an elephant’s morale
Germany had to wait until the final moments to seal their passage to the next round of the 2026 World Cup after Denise Undav scored the decisive goal to give her country a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in Saturday’s late kick-off.
During the break, Undaff wrote his name in the list of decisive goalscorers in the history of the German national team in the world championships.
After UNDF drew the Germans level after Kessia had put the Ivory Coast ahead in the first half, the same player came back to score the winning goal for coach Julian Nagelsmann’s side at 93:31.
According to Mr. Shipp’s statistics, Germany’s victory over Ivory Coast became the 3rd victory in World Cup history thanks to a goal scored in extra time (not extra time).
93:32 – After 93 minutes and 32 seconds, Germany scored their second World Cup winning goal (without extra time) after Toni Kroos (94:44) against Sweden in 2018. Gong: ⏱️ #GERCIV: #fifaworldcup pic.twitter.com/BMDFHMz8nq
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) June 20, 2026
Germany had only won World Cup matches with fatal goals twice before the UNDAF goal, Olivier Neville’s 90+1 against Poland at the 2006 World Cup and Toni Kroos’ 90+5 against Sweden at the 2018 World Cup.
GER 🇩🇪 2-1 🇨🇮 CIV (FT) – Decisive goal by Deniz Undav at 93’31.". THIRD game in ENTIRE history that Germany wins with an extra-time goal at the World Cup.
🇩🇪 14.06.2006. Oliver Neville (90+1′) vs Polonia.
🇩🇪 23.06.2018. Toni Kroos (90+5′) vs…— MisterChip (Alexis) (@2010MisterChip) June 20, 2026
Undaf’s goal was not only historically important, but also gave Germany (6 points) an official ticket to the round of 32, after it guaranteed passage to the knockout stages of the first round, where it will meet, although its final group ranking is still open between first, second and third place.
The qualification is an important step for Germany, who have suffered in their last two World Cup appearances as they failed to progress beyond the group stage in 2018 and 2022, ending their absence from the tournament’s knockout stages.
Although Germany weren’t at their best against Ivory Coast, their ability to decide matches in the final moments was reminiscent of one of the team’s most outstanding features throughout its history. faith until the final whistle.
