Ecuador stun Germany and shaky Neuer and qualify for the knockout phase
“I understand completely from the human side and if we only approached it that way it would be obvious, but we have to look at the large picture” said Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann ahead of the Ecuador game, when asked about potential rotation in the starting 11, due to the fact that his team was first in the group, no matter the final score. He was stubborn enough to field the strongest team (minus two subs due to injuries) and the result was not good: Germany – Ecuador 1-2. Die Mannschaft played poorly, the starting lineup didn’t have enough will and energy to play against fiery Ecuador, and Manuel Neuer, who was still ahead of Oliver Baumann reacted poorly before both goals.Ecuador easily played their best game in the tournament, took a win against a stronger opponent when they needed to, and used all Germany’s misses in front of the goal to secure the win in the end, which will be enough for the Round of 32 for only the second time in their history. They had to deal with some refe..