Germany have failed to keep a World Cup clean sheet since the 2014 final win vs. Argentina – Bavarian Football Works

Albeit a dead rubber match occasion for Germany, Julian Nagelsmann’s side was stunned by virtue of a 2-1 loss to Ecuador in East Rutherford, New Jersey on the final matchday of group play in group E of the World Cup. Germany had already sealed their fate of winning the group and getting to the round of 32 with their opening wins against Curaçao and Côte d’Ivoire, but they certainly didn’t set out to lose against an Ecuadorian side buoyed by the hope of getting through to the knockouts as one of the tournament’s best third place nations.

Poetic justice seemed to side with Ecuador in the end as Leroy Sané‘s second minute goal stood even after VAR took a close look at a high boot from Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlović and still decided to award the goal. The Fox Sports commentary team of Ian Darke and Landon Donovan both seemed to agree that the goal should not have been given after VAR showed Pavlović‘s boot raised to a dangerous level, but Ecuador got their crowning moment in the 77th minute from Gonzalo Plata after Nilson Angulo leveled the score in the ninth minute.

Fortune often favors the bold in these international tournaments and Germany, for the most part, played like a team that was already through to the knockouts with one eye on Foxborough, Massachusetts for Monday even though Julian Nagelsmann didn’t make too many changes to his starting eleven selection. Antonio Rüdiger had to start for the injured Nico Schlotterbeck and likewise David Raum for the injured Nathaniel Brown. Brown has reportedly all but completed a move to Bayern Munich from Eintracht Frankfurt behind the scenes.

While Germany is qualified for the knockouts after winning the group as they were expected to do, the Ecuador loss shows that they still have not kept a World Cup clean sheet since beating Argentina 1-0 in 2014 in Brazil thanks to the famous stoppage time goal from Mario Götze (via @iMiaSanMia). One could be pointed to the old adage of “how the mighty have fallen” but it is a bit of a paradox with the newly-expanded format of 48 teams in this World Cup, giving better ranked nations like Germany an easier chance of getting out of the group. Not to mention, this is the first time since Brazil 2014 they’ve made it out of the group, though they did advance to the knockout stage in both Euro 2020 and 2024.

Taking a look back, Germany’s World Cup results since that fateful night in Rio de Janeiro in July 2014 have looked like this.

2018 World Cup (Russia)

2022 World Cup (Qatar)

2026 World Cup (Canada, United States)