ShareThe Group E leaders meet Ecuador in the final round of the group stage at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.By Filip MishovThe toothless Ecuadorians must cause an upset to avoid an early exitLa Tri are one of only four national teams without a single goal scored at the World Cup after two rounds played, and Sebastián Beccacece‘s squad are under pressure to break the deadlock and deliver against the Group E leaders in the final round.Despite recording an xG of 2.84 (from 15 shots on target) and enjoying 75% of ball possession, Ecuador failed to find a way past Curaçao’s outstanding goalkeeper, Eloy Room, and remain in third place behind Ivory Coast, in desperate need of a positive result if Moisés Caicedo & co. are to secure a place in the round of 32.Germany, with nine goals, boast the highest-scoring squad at the tournament so far, and the 10th-ranked internationational team have already booked a ticket to the knockout phase for the first time since the 2014 World Cup – Die Mannschaft’s first objective in North America.Furthermore, Germany are destined to finish top of the group following their stoppage-time victory against Ivory Coast, taking the pressure off Julian Nagelsmann and allowing room to rest players in this game.Key playersEnner Valencia is nearing the end of his legendary career in La Tricolor shirt and Thursday’s clash might be the final World Cup match for Ecuador’s leading all-time goalscorer (49 goals). The 36-year-old is expected to lead the forward line once again in hope of unlocking Germany’s defence, and the captain will be extra motivated to find the back of the net in order to extend his national team’s stay in North America.Deniz Undav is in elite company alongside Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, as one of the most efficient players at the World Cup 2026 with the in-form striker scoring three goals and adding a couple of assists in just 56 minutes of action.The 29-year-old came off the bench against both Curaçao and Ivory Coast and recorded a FotMob rating of 8.8 and 8.7, respectively, while being selected as the Player of the Match on the latter occasion following his match-winning brace. In spite of the coach’s public criticism ahead of the tournament, Undav is becoming too good to ignore, and a place in the starting XI seems inevitable.Team newsNico Schlotterbeck suffered an ankle injury against Ivory Coast and the centre-back will miss the rest of the tournament, which is a big blow to Germany’s defence. Antonio Rüdiger is set to replace him. Nadiem Amiri is among the players pushing for a start after his positive cameo off the bench, with Nagelsmann expected to reshuffle the starting line-up.Everyone is fit and available within Beccacece’s squad and the coach must decide whether to deploy a more attacking formation with a place in the Round of 32 on the line for Ecuador.Predicted Germany XIPredictionEven though Germany were far from impressive against the Ivory Coast, Nagelsmann’s star-studded squad managed to complete a full comeback thanks to the superior quality in squad depth (and Undav’s brilliance), and even if the coach once nicknamed ‘Baby Mourinho’ decides to rotate the squad against Ecuador, I expect another win and maybe even a repeat of their last meeting from the World Cup 2006.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from at the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.The Group E leaders meet Ecuador in the final round of the group stage at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.By Filip MishovThe toothless Ecuadorians must cause an upset to avoid an early exitLa Tri are one of only four national teams without a single goal scored at the World Cup after two rounds played, and Sebastián Beccacece‘s squad are under pressure to break the deadlock and deliver against the Group E leaders in the final round.Despite recording an xG of 2.84 (from 15 shots on target) and enjoying 75% of ball possession, Ecuador failed to find a way past Curaçao’s outstanding goalkeeper, Eloy Room, and remain in third place behind Ivory Coast, in desperate need of a positive result if Moisés Caicedo & co. are to secure a place in the round of 32.Germany, with nine goals, boast the highest-scoring squad at the tournament so far, and the 10th-ranked internationational team have already booked a ticket to the knockout phase for the first time since the 2014 World Cup – Die Mannschaft’s first objective in North America.Furthermore, Germany are destined to finish top of the group following their stoppage-time victory against Ivory Coast, taking the pressure off Julian Nagelsmann and allowing room to rest players in this game.Key playersEnner Valencia is nearing the end of his legendary career in La Tricolor shirt and Thursday’s clash might be the final World Cup match for Ecuador’s leading all-time goalscorer (49 goals). The 36-year-old is expected to lead the forward line once again in hope of unlocking Germany’s defence, and the captain will be extra motivated to find the back of the net in order to extend his national team’s stay in North America.Deniz Undav is in elite company alongside Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, as one of the most efficient players at the World Cup 2026 with the in-form striker scoring three goals and adding a couple of assists in just 56 minutes of action.The 29-year-old came off the bench against both Curaçao and Ivory Coast and recorded a FotMob rating of 8.8 and 8.7, respectively, while being selected as the Player of the Match on the latter occasion following his match-winning brace. In spite of the coach’s public criticism ahead of the tournament, Undav is becoming too good to ignore, and a place in the starting XI seems inevitable.Team newsNico Schlotterbeck suffered an ankle injury against Ivory Coast and the centre-back will miss the rest of the tournament, which is a big blow to Germany’s defence. Antonio Rüdiger is set to replace him. Nadiem Amiri is among the players pushing for a start after his positive cameo off the bench, with Nagelsmann expected to reshuffle the starting line-up.Everyone is fit and available within Beccacece’s squad and the coach must decide whether to deploy a more attacking formation with a place in the Round of 32 on the line for Ecuador.Predicted Germany XIPredictionEven though Germany were far from impressive against the Ivory Coast, Nagelsmann’s star-studded squad managed to complete a full comeback thanks to the superior quality in squad depth (and Undav’s brilliance), and even if the coach once nicknamed ‘Baby Mourinho’ decides to rotate the squad against Ecuador, I expect another win and maybe even a repeat of their last meeting from the World Cup 2006.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from at the World Cup with FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.