Ecuador make two changes to their starting XI after the goalless draw with Curaçao. Joel Ordóñez comes into the defence while Nilson Angulo joins the attack. Pervis Estupiñán and Jordy Alcívar drop to the bench.
Germany also make two changes, but both of those are enforced. Central defender Nico Schlotterbeck is out of the World Cup after suffering ligament damage, while left-back Nathaniel Brown has an adductor problem and isn’t risked. Antonio Rüdiger and David Raum take their places. Three-goal supersub Deniz Undav starts on the bench again.
The teams
Ecuador: Galindez, Franco, Ordonez, Pacho, Hincapie, Yeboah, Vite, Moises Caicedo, Angulo, Plata, Enner Valencia.
Subs: Ramirez, Valle, Torres, Alcivar, Estupinan, Anthony Valencia, Paez, Rodriguez, Minda, Jordy Caicedo, Preciado, Castillo, Arevalo, Porozo, Medina.
Germany: Neuer, Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Raum, Nmecha, Pavlovic, Sane, Musiala, Wirtz, Havertz.
Subs: Baumann, Nubel, Anton, Goretzka, Leweling, Woltemade, Gross, Beier, Stiller, Amiri, Thiaw, Ouedraogo, Undav.
Referee: Tori Penso (USA).
… and now here’s Ecuador’s contribution to the story so far. It doesn’t amount to much.
Here’s how Germany have done so far. That Livano Comenencia equaliser seems an awfully long time ago now.
Friends reunited. Reacquaint yourself with old pals from both squads.
Preamble
Group D comes to its conclusion tonight. The maths are simple. Germany have already won the group so can free-associate as much as they please. Ecuador need to win to progress, because should they end up in third spot, two points simply won’t suffice. Let’s face it, most eyes are on this match to further gauge Germany’s likelihood of winning their fifth World Cup: an outside chance or something a little bit stronger? Kick-off is at 9pm BST, 4pm EDT, 6am AEST. It’s on!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 2 | Ivory Coast | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Ecuador | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 4 | Curacao | 2 | -6 | 1 |
