Undav’s Last-Gasp Brace Sends Germany Into Last 32
Deniz Undav came off the bench to score twice and rescue Germany’s World Cup campaign in a dramatic 2-1 win over Ivory Coast.
Undav Turns the Tide With Two Ice-Cold Finishes
Germany looked lost, trailing Ivory Coast 1-0 in Toronto with the 2022 group-stage nightmare threatening to replay itself. Then Deniz Undav walked on. Two goals, fifteen blistering minutes — a rasping volley from an Amiri cross, then a cold-blooded finish from Nmecha’s pass in the 94th minute. Germany are through. The redemption tour continues.
Franck Kessié had given Ivory Coast a fully deserved lead on the half-hour mark, and Germany’s attack looked blunt and disconnected through the first hour. Undav changed the game’s entire texture from the moment he arrived. His equaliser was a thing of beauty — a perfectly timed volley — while the winner was pure predator: first touch, lethal finish, corner of the net. Class delivered under maximum pressure.
Four Years After Qatar Disaster, Germany Breathe Again
The 2022 World Cup group-stage exit remains Germany’s darkest modern footballing memory. Walking onto home-continent turf in Toronto, Nagelsmann’s squad carried that weight. A win over Ivory Coast — clawed back from a deficit and sealed in stoppage time — doesn’t erase 2022, but it plants a very different flag. Germany in the last 32 and growing.
Julian Nagelsmann will push Undav hard for a starting spot after that substitute performance. Germany have the players to go far — but they need to start matches with the same ferocity they finish them.
