Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece’s euphoric celebration after his side’s dramatic 2-1 win over Germany quickly went viral on Thursday, June 25, as Ecuador sealed a place in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 2006.
As the final whistle blew at the New York’s New Jersey stadium, Beccacece sprinted towards the stands, climbed over the barriers and embraced his wife before celebrating with Ecuador fans, many of whom were left in tears after witnessing one of the biggest results in the country’s football history.
The emotional scenes followed a night where Ecuador had entered with virtually no margin for error.
ECUADOR COME BACK FROM DESPAIR
Having lost to Ivory Coast and drawn against tournament debutants Curacao in their opening two matches, Ecuador needed a win over already-qualified Germany to keep their World Cup campaign alive.
Things began disastrously.
Germany took the lead in the second minute through Leroy Sane after a move that Ecuador believed should have been stopped for a high boot on Pedro Vite during the build-up. Their appeals were rejected and the goal stood.
But Ecuador did not lose control of the game.
Nilson Angulo equalised in the ninth minute with Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament – remarkably coming only on their 40th shot of the campaign.
The game remained on edge through the second half. Germany had a penalty overturned after VAR intervened, while Manuel Neuer denied Enner Valencia to keep the score level.
Then Ecuador found their moment.
Substitute Kevin Rodriguez flicked on a corner in the 77th minute and Gonzalo Plata arrived to stab home from close range.
Ecuador survived nearly 20 minutes of relentless pressure afterwards to secure qualification as one of the eight best third-placed teams in the tournament.
Speaking after the game, Beccacece said the result represented the fulfilment of what the team had set out to achieve.
“Now it is time to celebrate. Time to share this feeling with your family, your friends, to drink your beer,” Beccacece said.
“It is the biggest victory for Ecuador in a World Cup. We worked for that, we came with the dream of making Ecuador’s best cup ever, and now we did.”
The coach said Ecuador never abandoned their approach despite a difficult opening to the tournament and criticism after their first two games.
“We kept the tranquillity. We kept the exact same idea of how to play,” he said.
Beccacece added that the team had refused to overreact after poor results and had approached Germany believing they belonged at the same level.
“Football is like that: one day you win, the other day you lose. We were not in the hell before, neither I think we are in the heaven now. The important thing is the balance.”
“I don’t think we were better than Curacao, neither we felt we were less than Germany. We will keep going, with humility, with prudence.”
Germany still progress as Group E winners despite the defeat, while Ecuador move into the Round of 32 carrying momentum and one of the most memorable celebrations of the tournament so far.
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