2026 FIFA World Cup Group E
FIFA World Cup group
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Group E of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 14 to 25, 2026.[1] The group consisted of Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador.
Four-time world champions Germany secured their place in the round of 32, after failing to progress past the group stage in the last two tournaments. Ivory Coast finished as runners-up, progressing to the knockout stages for the first time.
In an upset victory, Ecuador defeated Germany in their last group game, finishing third and advancing as one of the eight best third-place teams.[2] World Cup debutants Curaçao finished fourth, and were eliminated.
Teams
| Draw position | Team | Pot | Confederation | Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Finals appearance |
Last appearance |
Previous best performance |
FIFA Rankings[3][4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025[nb 1] | June 2026 | |||||||||
| E1 |  Germany | 1 | UEFA | UEFA Group A winner | November 17, 2025 | 21st[nb 2] | 2022 | Winner (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) | 9 | 10 |
| E2 |  Curaçao | 4 | CONCACAF | CONCACAF Group B winner | November 18, 2025 | 1st | — | — | 82 | 82 |
| E3 |  Ivory Coast | 3 | CAF | CAF Group F winner | October 14, 2025 | 4th | 2014 | Group stage (2006, 2010, 2014) | 42 | 33 |
| E4 |  Ecuador | 2 | CONMEBOL | CONMEBOL round robin runner-up | June 10, 2025 | 5th | 2022 | Round of 16 (2006) | 23 | 23 |
Notes
- The rankings of November 2025 were used for seeding for the final draw.[5]
- Germany competed between 1951 and 1990 as West Germany.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 6[a] | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ivory Coast |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6[a] | |
| 3 | Ecuador |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Curaçao |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 1 |
- Head-to-head result: Germany 2–1 Ivory Coast.
In the round of 32:[2]
- The winner of Group E, Germany, advanced to play the third-place team of Group D, Paraguay.
- The runner-up of Group E, Ivory Coast, advanced to play the runner-up of Group I, Norway.
- The third-place team of Group E, Ecuador, advanced to play the winner of Group A, Mexico, as one of the eight best third-place teams from the group stage.
Matches
All times listed are local.[1]
Germany vs Curaçao
The two sides had never met before.
The fixture marked Curaçao's FIFA World Cup debut, making it the smallest country by population ever to qualify for the tournament. Moreover, Livano Comenencia scored Curaçao's first-ever goal in the tournament.
Germany's seven goals were the most they scored in a World Cup match since 2014, when they also defeated Brazil 7–1 in the semi-final.
| Germany | 7–1 | Curaçao |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 1] |
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          Germany[6]
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     Curaçao[6]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[6]
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Ivory Coast vs Ecuador
The two teams had never met before.
With a goal by Amad Diallo in the 90th minute, this marked Ivory Coast's first victory against a CONMEBOL team in the FIFA World Cup since their 2–1 loss to Colombia in 2014.[8]
| Ivory Coast | 1–0 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 2] |
     Ivory Coast[10]
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    Ecuador[10]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[10]
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Germany vs Ivory Coast
The teams have previously faced each other once, in a 2009 friendly match that ended in a 2–2 draw.[11]
| Germany | 2–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
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[Report 3] |
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Germany[12]
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Ivory Coast[12]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[12]
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Ecuador vs Curaçao
The two teams had never met before. This was the first time Curaçao earned a point at the World Cup.
| Ecuador | 0–0 | Curaçao |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 4] |
    Ecuador[13]
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 Curaçao[13]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[13]
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Curaçao vs Ivory Coast
The two teams had never met before.
With this result, Ivory Coast qualified for the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time as Group E runners-up, while Curaçao were ultimately eliminated from the group stage.
| Curaçao | 0–2 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| [Report 5] |
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Curaçao[14]
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Ivory Coast[14]
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[14]
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Ecuador vs Germany
Germany had won the teams' two previous meetings: a 3–0 group stage victory at the 2006 FIFA World Cup (which they hosted) and a 4–2 friendly in 2013.[15]
During the match, total attendance for the tournament reached 3,605,357 spectators. This surpassed the previous record of 3,587,538,[16] which had been held for 32 years by the 1994 FIFA World Cup, also hosted in the United States. The record was broken with 44 matches remaining in the tournament.[17]
Regarded as an upset victory, this was Germany's first group-stage loss since their 2–1 defeat to Japan in 2022.
  Ecuador[18]
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     Germany[18]
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Discipline
The team conduct ("fair play") score would have been used as a tiebreaker if the head-to-head and overall records of teams were tied. It would also be used as a tiebreaker for the third-place ranking between groups if the overall records of teams were tied. The score was calculated based on yellow and red cards received by players and team officials in all group matches as follows:[2]
- yellow card: −1 point;
- indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
- direct red card: −4 points;
- yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions could be applied to a player or team official in a single match.
| Team | Match 1 | Match 2 | Match 3 | Score | |||||||||
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| Germany |
1 | –1 | |||||||||||
| Ivory Coast |
3 | 1 | −4 | ||||||||||
| Ecuador |
1 | 1 | 3 | −5 | |||||||||
| Curaçao |
5 | 2 | −7 | ||||||||||
Notes
- Michael Oliver (England) was originally appointed to the Ivory Coast vs Ecuador match, but he pulled out due to a minor injury.[9]