EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) 鈥� A little flick of Gonzalo Plata鈥檚 big toe helped Ecuador make a great escape.
Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute and lifted Ecuador to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday and into the knockout round of the for the first time since 2006.
鈥淟ife is different now. We suffered a lot,” said Plata, a 25-year-old winger who scored his ninth international goal. 鈥淲e suffered too much in the first two matches. We would have liked to secure qualification much earlier, but now we鈥檙e going forward more hungry, knowing we have to give it our all.鈥�
Ecuador, which has lost only one of its last 22 games, finished third in Group E with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, headed to a possible matchup with Mexico on Tuesday in Mexico City.
A four-time champion already assured of advancement by winning its first two games, Germany will play its round of 32 game Monday at Foxborough, Massachusetts, most likely against Paraguay, Australia or Sweden.
鈥淥n Monday it鈥檚 important that we start well,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said through a translator.
Germany’s winning streak was stopped at 11 games, one shy of the team record set in 1979-80.
“The difference was today that the opponent wanted to win more than us, and you could really feel it, especially in the second half,鈥� Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich said.
Germany went ahead on Leroy San茅’s second-minute goal. Aleksandar Pavlovi膰 chested the ball and ended up kicking Pedro Vite in the head following Nathaniel Brown鈥檚 throw-in, but American referee Tori Penso didn’t whistle a foul. Pavlovi膰 passed to Florian Wirtz, who centered to San茅 just inside the penalty area to beat goalkeeper Hern谩n Gal铆ndez.
Nilson Angulo equalized in the ninth minute with Ecuador’s first goal of the tournament following a and a . Felix Nmecha lost the ball in midfield to Vite. The midfielder passed to Angulo, who dribbled toward goal and beat Neuer to the far post from just outside the area.
Penso originally awarded Germany a penalty kick less than 30 seconds into the second half after Joel Ord贸帽ez took down Kai Havertz, but a video review ruled San茅 had first fouled Vite.
With the crowd tensing as time ran down, Plata scored after Vite’s corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodr铆guez, who was 6 yards out at the near post. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who ended two years of international retirement for the World Cup, was about to grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and stabbed it into the net.
Sebasti谩n Beccacece, an Argentine who has coached Ecuador for two years, sprinted to the front of the stands, his shoulder-length blond hair flowing, to hug his wife, Patricia Persson. He had been pilloried after the poor start and paraphrased a lyric from Argentine rock band Los Redondos.
鈥淚n loneliness you cannot always listen to what you hear. You just keep pushing forward. You ignite your fire and you continue,鈥� he said.
A crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium was mostly in Ecuador’s yellow. FIFA said it boosted attendance to a record 3,587,539 in the 56th game of the expanded World Cup, one more than the 52 matches for the 1994 tournament in the U.S.
鈥淲e felt at home in all these stadiums,鈥� Rodr铆guez said.
Ecuador had prepared to return to its training camp in Columbus, Ohio, rather than head home to South America.
鈥淭hey told us: `You will be back here,’鈥� he said. 鈥淭he staff in the kitchen, in the spa, even the drivers.鈥�
Ecuador isn’t sure of its next opponent or even where the match will be played, so fans can’t lock in travel just yet.
鈥淚 hope they brought plenty of clothes in their luggage,” Plata said.
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This story corrects the name of the Argentine rock band to Los Redondos.
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AP Sports Writers Eric N煤帽ez and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
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