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Ecuador’s football team has secured their place in the World Cup knockout phase, leading President Daniel Noboa to declare Friday a national holiday across the nation.
The announcement followed the team’s surprising 2-1 victory over Germany on Thursday.
Writing on X, President Noboa lauded the team’s resilience, stating: “Thanks to the players and the coach who, despite the criticism, the insults, and the tough moments they went through, managed to recover and give this immense joy to the entire country. Tomorrow, a holiday!”
The decisive 2-1 triumph over Germany was essential for Ecuador, coming after a defeat by Ivory Coast and a draw with Curacao in their Group E fixtures.
Ecuador reached the World Cup knockout stages for just the second time in their history (Getty)
Despite conceding a controversial early goal, with Leroy Sane finding the net inside two minutes after a potential foul in the build-up, the South American side mounted a spirited comeback to clinch the win.
Nilson Angulo brought Ecuador level with a fine strike from the edge of the area in the ninth minute, and Ecuador pushed for a winner after the break.
They eventually got their reward in the 77th minute, as Gonzalo Plata beat Manuel Neuer to the ball to poke home from close range.
The comeback victory sparked jubilant celebrations among fans at the sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium, while Germany had already secured their qualification as group winners.
Ecuador progressed as one of the best eight third-placed teams, marking only their second appearance in the World Cup knockout stages.
Their previous advancement to the round of 16 was in the 2006 tournament held in Germany.
On that occasion, Ecuador were knocked out by England after suffering a 1-0 defeat, with David Beckham scoring the only goal of the game to send Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side through to the quarter-finals.
The two teams could meet again in the round of 32 this time around, although there are still six groups that need to play their final round of fixtures.
England are set to face Panama on Saturday, knowing that a victory is likely to be enough to ensure they top their group after beating Croatia 4-2 and drawing 0-0 with Ghana in their previous two games.
