TORONTO — Right now, apart from Erling Haaland, there is no striker better than Deniz Undav in terms of goals per game at the international level, and Germany really needed him to deliver Saturday.
Deniz Undav rescued an average Germany side against Ivory Coast, notching two second-half goals after coming off the bench. His tally is now nine goals in 11 caps for the Mannschaft, an incredible ratio for the Stuttgart forward. He’s the top scorer of this World Cup, tied with Lionel Messi and Jonathan David with three goals (after his first one against Curaçao), but remarkably, all of his have come off the bench.
In a tournament that has had several “super subs” already over its first 10 days, Undav is surely the best of the World Cup, so far.
More important than his goals is their impact, as he lifted Germany out of a 1-0 deficit to control their destiny in Group E. Ivory Coast didn’t deserve defeat in this top-of-the-table clash, causing the 2014 world champions a host of problems. Talking about 2014, this is the first time since that Brazil World Cup that Germany have safely made it to the knockout rounds: They can thank Undav for that.
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In 2018 and 2022, Germany were humiliated and went home after the group stage. They are not guaranteed a top spot in the group just yet, but this is a massive step toward it before their game against Ecuador next week.
As for how far Germany can go in 2026, that’s a far more difficult question to answer. They struggled against the Elephants on Saturday, creating little in a quiet first half that saw them fall behind to Franck Kessié‘s thunderous finish. Die Mannschaft‘s 7-1 win against Curaçao in their opening game couldn’t really be judged, considering the weakness of the opponents, but Ivory Coast pushed Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Too narrow and too predictable, the Germans’ 4-2-3-1 formation led to long spells of disappointing play. Germany could not get control of the match even while having most of the ball (60% possession) and some decent opportunities for Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz and Kai Havertz. They had two goals correctly disallowed for fouls by Aleksandar Pavlovic and Havertz, respectively, but they never really found their rhythm either, especially in midfield.
So, Nagelsmann changed pretty much everything about his team, and the magic worked.
During the 60th minute, he made three changes that created an immediate impact. Leroy Sané, Musiala and Pavlovic were replaced by Deniz Undav, Nadiem Amiri and Jamie Leweling. It was not just the triple substitution that was interesting, but more that Nagelsmann went full attack. Suddenly, there was no real defensive midfielder after Pavlovic’s exit, replaced by more creative attacking players between the lines, causing more of a threat for Ivory Coast.
In the end, it worked thanks to Undav’s amazing cameo. He scored the first eight minutes after coming in, running from deep to volley an Amiri cross beyond Yahia Fofana. Undav then notched the decisive goal in the final minute of stoppage time, turning on the edge of the box and firing with power beyond Fofana to give Germany all three points.
At almost 30 — his birthday is July 19, the day of the World Cup final — Undaz is reaching his peak after a club season with 25 goals and 14 assists in 46 games across all competitions, including 19 and six in 29 Bundesliga matches, helping Stuttgart get back into the UEFA Champions League.
Undav was lethal, but it was cruel for Ivory Coast. Seeing how many problems they cause Kimmich & Co., the Elephants have proved again that they can’t be underestimated in this World Cup. A point would have been a fair result for them, and they could have won it if Simon Adingra had taken Nicolas Pépé‘s cross the first time instead of controlling the ball to try to cut inside and take a better shot. But there will still be a lot of positives for coach Emerse Fae to take away once they’ve processed their disappointment. They are in a strong position to qualify — their last group game is against Curaçao — and they can still potentially top the group, too, if Germany lose to Ecuador.
Ivory Coast showed a lot in Toronto, not just their maturity tactically and technically. With a team full of individual talents, such as Yan Diomande, Amad Diallo or 20-year-old Christ Inao Oulaï, who made a name for himself with a superb display against the Germans, and of experienced and solid players (Sangaré, Kessié, Singo, Kossonou), Faé has built a well-organized, physical and coherent team out of possession in its favourite 4-3-3 formation. With the ball, there is pace and skill on the wings, deep runs from midfield as Ivory Coast’s goal against Germany proved: Diomandé on the left got the best of Joshua Kimmich, and his cross found Franck Kessié, via Diallo, for the opener after 30 minutes.
This is also a team made of players from different backgrounds. Eight of Faé’s players (and the coach) were born in France. Others came through local academies, such as the one created by Jean-Marc Guillou, ASEC Abidjan or ASEC Mimosas. Many left young to go all around Europe and try their luck at becoming professionals somewhere. Faé’s talent has been to mold them into a united team.
Could Ivory Coast 2026 be Morocco 2022? They have shown enough so far, despite Saturday’s loss, for the question to be asked.
