Super-sub Undav strikes in stoppage time as Germany sink brave Ivory Coast

Franck Kessié put Ivory Coast ahead, but substitute Deniz Undav scored twice, the winner in the 94th minute, to earn Germany a 2-1 comeback win in Toronto. Undav is now joint-top of the Golden Boot.

Germany needed every last second to see off a brave Ivory Coast, Deniz Undav coming off the bench to score twice and snatch a 2-1 win deep into stoppage time at BMO Field in Toronto. The result sends Germany top of Group E with two wins from two, but the Elephants made them sweat for every inch of it.

Ivory Coast had the lead they deserved at the break. Franck Kessié, the heartbeat of the side that won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, drove forward and finished on thirty minutes to silence the German support. The African side defended with discipline and broke with purpose, and for an hour they looked the more likely.

Germany huffed and puffed. Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz probed for openings, the corners piled up, and Julian Nagelsmann's men finished with sixteen shots to nine. What they lacked was a finish, and the longer the Ivorian wall held, the more anxious the favourites became.

So Nagelsmann went to his bench, and Undav changed the game. The striker levelled on sixty-eight minutes, sliding in to convert after Germany finally worked an opening, and suddenly the momentum swung. Ivory Coast, so solid for so long, found themselves pinned back and hanging on.

The blow landed in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Undav popped up again to win it, a gut-punch of a goal that sent the German bench spilling onto the pitch and left the Ivorians on their knees. From a goal down and frustrated, Germany had found a way, as the best teams so often do.

For Undav, the night was a personal triumph. His brace took him to three goals for the tournament, level at the top of the Golden Boot race, and confirmed his value as the man Nagelsmann turns to when a game needs unlocking. Not bad for a player who began the evening as a substitute.

Ivory Coast will be heartbroken, and they should also be proud. Emerse Faé's side, with Wilfried Singo athletic at the back and Amad Diallo a threat going forward, took one of the tournament favourites to the wire. After edging Ecuador in their opener, they leave with nothing from a game they led for an hour, the cruelty of tournament football laid bare.

In Kenya, this one hurt. The late-night crowds glued to the African streams were squarely behind the Elephants, willing the continent's champions to topple the German machine, and when Kessié struck they erupted. The agony came in watching Ivory Coast sit too deep on their lead and get punished, first by Undav's leveller and then by his dagger at the death. Tulikuwa nyuma ya Elephants kabisa, lakini wakakaza nyuma wakaadhibiwa: we were right behind the Elephants, but they locked the back door and paid for it. Our Africa round-one verdict backed them to trouble anyone, and even in defeat they showed exactly why.