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06/21 16:47

World Cup Day Ten: Undav the Hero as Germany Survive Ivory Coast Scare, Netherlands Rout Sweden and

Saturday's action at the 2026 World Cup delivered drama in equal measure to quality, as Deniz Undav rescued Germany with a stunning injury-time winner, the Netherlands swept aside Sweden in a Premier League showcase, and Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room produced one of the great individual performances in World Cup history to hold Ecuador to a goalless draw. Japan, meanwhile, were ruthlessly efficient in eliminating Tunisia, and Paraguay clung on heroically with ten men to send Turkey out of the tournament.The story of the day — and perhaps of the tournament so far — belonged to Room. The 37-year-old Miami FC goalkeeper single-handedly kept Curaçao in the match against Ecuador in Philadelphia, making a record-equalling 15 saves to deny the South Americans in Group E. Ecuador, still smarting from their opening defeat to Ivory Coast, threw everything at the Curaçao goal from the first whistle. Room's first intervention came after just three minutes, a stunning close-range stop from Enner Valencia that set the tone for the evening. He then repelled efforts from John Yeboah, Moisés Caicedo, Pedro Vite, Kevin Rodríguez, Nilson Angulo and Gonzalo Plata, among others — 27 attempts in total, not one found the net. Room's tally matched Tim Howard's famous 15-save haul against Belgium in 2014, and this time it yielded a clean sheet. Curaçao, who had conceded seven without reply to Germany in their opener, earned a historic 0–0 draw and a first ever World Cup point, sparking scenes of pure disbelief among their supporters. Ecuador, for all their possession and persistence, now face Germany needing a win just to stay alive.In the other Group E fixture, Germany required one of their own late interventions to secure all three points against a spirited Ivory Coast side in Toronto. Emerse Faé's team made an encouraging start and took a deserved lead in the 30th minute when Franck Kessié pounced on a rebound after Amad Diallo's shot was blocked by Nathaniel Brown. The Ivorians were lively and direct, and could have doubled their lead on a couple of occasions as German frustration grew — a Havertz goal was ruled out for a foul in the build-up, and Kessié again spurned a chance to put the game to bed. Those misses proved fatal. Manager Julian Nagelsmann turned to his bench, and substitute Undav — already the stand-out performer of the tournament in a secondary role — delivered once more. The Stuttgart forward applied a composed finish to Nadiem Amiri's cross in the 68th minute to level, then, deep into injury time, received a pass from Felix Nmecha, took one touch to control and slotted past goalkeeper Yahia Fofana to win it. Germany, who had scored seven in their opener, had been made to work considerably harder this time, but they are into the last 32 with a game to spare. Ivory Coast must beat Curaçao in their final match to advance.In Group F, the Netherlands sent an unambiguous message after their frustrating draw with Japan in game one: Ronald Koeman's side demolished Sweden 5–1 in Houston, with all six goals scored by Premier League players. Brobbey, earning a surprise start at the expense of Summerville, justified his selection immediately — the Sunderland forward finished clinically from Cody Gakpo's low cross in the fifth minute, then stabbed home a second from Denzel Dumfries' delivery moments later. Gakpo added two of his own in the second half, the third of which — a drilled low finish — brought up the tournament's 100th goal in just 33 games, the fastest that landmark has been reached since the 1958 World Cup. Summerville, introduced at the interval, was electric and scored the fifth before Anthony Elanga, a Newcastle substitute, pulled one back for Sweden as a consolation. The Dutch go top of Group F with four points, while Sweden face a must-not-lose final game against Japan.Japan themselves moved to four points with a controlled and professional 4–0 dismantling of Tunisia in Guadalupe, Mexico — a result that ended Tunisia's tournament and the brief Hervé Renard experiment before it had truly begun. The new coach had been appointed following last week's 5–1 defeat to Sweden and the sacking of Sabri Lamouchi, but even Renard's nous could not manufacture a Tunisia response. Japan pressed from the kick-off and were ahead within four minutes through Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada, who prodded home from a swift counter-attack. Ayase Ueda then displayed exquisite technique to arrow a shot through a defender's legs from the edge of the box, and Junya Ito made it three with a simple one-on-one finish. Ueda completed the scoring with a looping header. Tunisia — goalless, pointless and out — return home with little to show from their journey to North America.The day's final match, in Group D, produced the tournament's most bizarre red card yet. Paraguay took the lead after just 64 seconds in Kansas City — midfielder Matías Galarza firing in from outside the area for the fastest goal of the tournament — and then spent most of the remaining 89-plus minutes defending it. Miguel Almiron, one of Paraguay's most experienced players, was dismissed in first-half stoppage time after VAR recommended a red card for covering his mouth during a confrontation with Turkey's Mert Müldür — the first such dismissal in World Cup history under a rule introduced specifically for this tournament. Turkey, who had produced 30 attempts against Australia in game one and a further 32 here, finished their campaign without a single goal, and are eliminated. Ten-man Paraguay held firm to record a 1–0 win and keep their knockout-stage hopes alive — they will advance if they beat Australia in their final group match.Upcoming Matches for June 21 (all times ET):12:00 PM, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta — Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Group H)3:00 PM, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood — Belgium vs. Iran (Group G)6:00 PM, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens — Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (Group H)9:00 PM, BC Place, Vancouver — New Zealand vs. Egypt (Group G)
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