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June 27, 2026 · 12:23 AM

Day 17: Ecuador stun Germany, Australia survive, Türkiye bite back

June 25 World Cup 2026 recap covering Ecuador’s upset of Germany, Côte d’Ivoire’s first knockout berth, Australia’s survival, Türkiye-USA drama, and the verified X pulse around the night.

Gallery

Six matches tightened the World Cup 2026 knockout picture: Ecuador came from behind to beat Germany, Côte d’Ivoire reached the knockouts for the first time, the Netherlands topped Group F, Japan and Sweden both advanced, Australia held Paraguay, and Türkiye spoiled the USMNT’s perfect-group-stage ending.

Scoreboard snapshot

  • Curaçao 0–2 Côte d’Ivoire: Nicolas Pépé scored twice as Côte d’Ivoire reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time. 1
  • Ecuador 2–1 Germany: Leroy Sané struck early, but Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata turned the match, sending Ecuador into the last 32. 2
  • Tunisia 1–3 Netherlands: an own goal, Brian Brobbey and Jan Paul van Hecke sealed top spot in Group F and a Morocco matchup for the Dutch. 3
  • Japan 1–1 Sweden: Daizen Maeda and Anthony Elanga traded second-half goals; Japan finished second and Sweden also reached the last 32. 4
  • Türkiye 3–2 USA: Kaan Ayhan’s stoppage-time winner ended Türkiye’s tournament on a high and gave the co-hosts a bruising final group match. 5
  • Paraguay 0–0 Australia: the Socceroos finished second in Group D and booked a Round of 32 place. 6

The moments that traveled

Ecuador’s comeback mattered beyond the table: ESPN reported that President Daniel Noboa declared June 26 a public holiday after the win over Germany. 7
On X, the loudest verified thread of the night was Türkiye-USA: ESPN FC highlighted Arda Güler’s final-play nutmeg and noted he became Türkiye’s youngest World Cup scorer, while OptaJoe clocked Kaan Ayhan’s goal at 97:50 as the second-latest winning goal on record at a World Cup since 1966, excluding extra time. 8 9
Australia’s qualification got the official treatment from the FIFA World Cup account, while B/R Football captured a quieter history marker: Yūto Nagatomo became the first Asian player to appear in five World Cups after coming on during Japan’s draw with Sweden. 10 11
One more milestone belonged to the officials: ESPN FC reported that Katia Itzel García became the first Mexican woman to referee a FIFA World Cup match during Netherlands vs Tunisia. 12

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