Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann furiously dismissed suggestions Ecuador 'wanted it more' in their World Cup defeat – shortly before his players admitted that was very much the case. Ecuador stunned the four-time world champions in their final group match on Thursday night, coming from behind to seal a 2-1 win that saw them reach the knockout stages and set up a potential last 32 clash with England.
Match details
Germany got off to a perfect start when Leroy Sane found the bottom corner inside just two minutes. Ecuador were furious the goal stood with Alexandar Pavlovic's high boot on Pedro Vite ignored by the match officials. Sunderland's Nilson Angulo drew his side level before half-time before Gonzalo Plata scored the winning goal 13 minutes before full-time.
Nagelsmann's reaction
Having won their opening matches against Curacao and Ivory Coast, Germany had already qualified for the knockout stages as group winners with nothing to play for. Nagelsmann still named a strong starting XI with only two enforced changes. Speaking to MagentaTV after the game, presenter Johannes Kerner suggested Germany were not as committed and didn't want the win as much as their opponents. An annoyed Nagelsmann hit back: 'No, please stop with this nonsense, honestly. Didn't the lads give it their all today?' He added: 'They [Ecuador] took a bit more risk in many actions. Of course, we made different substitutions than we would have if we absolutely needed another goal. But I can't say any player didn't give their all. That's far too simplistic for me.'
Players disagree
Some of his players had a very different opinion. Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said: 'The atmosphere was amazing. You could feel there were many people from Ecuador. The difference was today that the opponent wanted to win more than us and you could really feel it, especially in the second-half, and this is why they won today, really deserved.' Deniz Undav, who came off the bench, added: 'I had the feeling they wanted it more than we did. Ecuador were more aggressive, more tenacious. We have to learn from this that we also have to give it our all. They gave 100 percent in every action, they were involved in every challenge. We also weren't as focused as in the first two games. We have to fight back more. But it's not the end of the world.'
Musiala's admission
Jamal Musiala also conceded Ecuador were the hungrier side. 'They were perhaps a bit more hungry to win the game. The intensity and aggression of their play were high. We have to learn from this defeat and prepare properly for the important phase of the tournament. We can't make these mistakes again; we have to win the next games.' Germany will face Paraguay in their last 32 clash.
