Toronto, Canada - Germany on Saturday booked their place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup with a dramatic last-minute goal against Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Meanwhile, Curaçao clinched a draw with Ecuador.

Substitute Deniz Undav was Germany's savior, scoring a 68th-minute equalizer before calmly slotting his second in the fourth minute of injury overtime, settling an enthralling and tense game in Toronto.

The result marks the first time since 2014 that Germany have reached the knockout rounds, after back-to-back first-round eliminations in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

"This is exactly what we hoped for and I'm very happy for my team," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said after the victory.

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Germany's come-from-behind victory was made even sweeter on Saturday by the fact that Ivory Coast had sat 1–0 ahead of the European nation for a decent chunk of the match.

Meanwhile, Curaçao dug in deep on Saturday to secure a shock 0–0 draw with Ecuador during their second World Cup game, which was played in Kansas City. It was a solid comeback for the team, which last week was thrashed 7–1 by Germany.

Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room was the hero, keeping out a record 15 shots – the most ever saves in a game that did not involve extra time – as the underdogs secured their first ever World Cup point.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands stayed firmly on their course for qualification with a grinding 5–1 demolition of Sweden. The victory pushes the Dutch team through to the knockouts.

"If you look further at the goals we scored, that will cause fear among opponents," said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman.

"The way those goals came about, in transition with a lot of pace and a lot of quality, we can be incredibly dangerous."