The victory over Ivory Coast was only the second comeback win of this World Cup after South Korea against the Czech Republic. For most of it, Germany did not look like the inevitable winners, and perhaps that stands them in good stead for the knockout rounds.
Their attacking play was poor in the first half, as Julian Nagelsmann’s midfield-heavy system struggled against Ivory Coast’s 4-1-4-1. Neither Florian Wirtz nor Jamal Musiala could get on the ball in dangerous spaces, and besides the underlapping of left-back Nathaniel Brown, Germany had few runners or players creating space.
They looked significantly better following the triple substitution on 60 minutes, which saw the introduction of Deniz Undav into a strike partnership with Kai Havertz, and meant they finally had targets in the box. Only eight minutes after coming on, two of the substitutes combined, with Nadiem Amiri crossing for Undav to tap in.
After that, Ivory Coast retreated to preserve the point — although they could have won it late on when Simon Adingra got his feet tangled on a counter-attack. The German winner was surgical in its execution: Felix Nmecha fired a pass through midfield and into the feet of Undav, who scored on the swivel.
At the very least, Germany will not replicate the group-stage exits of 2018 and 2022. Unconvincing but effective is subtle shades of Argentina four years ago in Qatar.
