Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece celebrates after the win over Germany. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said all Ecuadoreans ​have a lot to celebrate on Thursday after ‌the country’s biggest World Cup result ​ever, coming from behind to beat ⁠Germany 2-1 and advance to the knockout stage.

Ecuador’s win at the New York/New Jersey stadium meant ‌it finished as one of the eight best third-place teams across the ‌12 groups.

“Now it is time to ‌celebrate. ⁠Time to share this feeling with ⁠your family, your friends, to drink your beer,” the Argentine coach told a press conference.

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“It is the biggest ​victory for Ecuador ‌in a World Cup. We worked for that, we came with the dream of making Ecuador’s best cup ever, and now ‌we did,” he added.

Beccacece praised the players ​for raising their game and overcoming their disappointing opening games, when Ecuador ⁠lost to Ivory Coast and then drew 0-0 against tournament debutants Curacao.

He told reporters ‌that no changes were made to the team’s style of play.

“We kept the tranquillity. We kept the exact same idea of how to play,” he said, adding that he didn’t think the squad deserved the ‌previous results.

“Football is like that: one day you win, ​the other day you lose. We were not in the hell before, ⁠neither I think we are in the heaven ⁠now. The important thing is the balance.

“I don’t think we were better ‌than Curacao, neither we felt we were less than Germany. We will keep going, ​with humility, with prudence.”

Published on Jun 26, 2026