How German fans experienced the 1-2 loss against Ecuador: “That wasn’t a performance that was worth the ticket”

Everything started well for Germany in the last group game of the World Cup. After less than two minutes, Leroy Sané scored the fastest German World Cup goal since 1934. The German fans cheered. A young Ecuador fan began to cry.

But the joy among the German fans only lasted for a short time. The team from South America managed to equalize and then dominated the game for long stretches. In the end it was 2-1 for Ecuador. The mood among the German supporters was correspondingly bad afterwards.

Many of those who traveled to New York had hoped for more. Niklas came to the east coast with his father from Marburg. Looking back, he sees the fact that Germany won the group after just two games as a problem: “If there is no pressure behind it, the right mentality is missing,” he says. The 28-year-old first watched the game in Toronto with his father, then went to New York from there. You could still beat the supposedly easier opponent on Monday, but: “The round of 16 against France will be really difficult.”

Overall, Niklas is mostly frustrated with the performance – for the sake of the fans. “I also came specially with my father and spent a lot of money. That wasn’t an achievement that made the ticket worth it.”

While Niklas flies back to Germany disappointed, many German fans are already on their way to the next game. On Monday the German team may face Paraguay in the round of 16 in Boston. The final decision will only be made on Sunday morning German time on the last group game day. The last time they met against Paraguay in 2002, Germany won in the round of 16 thanks to a late goal from Oliver Neuville – and even reached the final in the end.

Many who were in the stadium on Thursday had already speculated in advance that Germany would win the group and had also bought tickets for the game in Boston, such as Sonja. Before the start of the World Cup, their expectations were not particularly high: “It was a mixed qualification.”

And she remains critical: “Overall, we need to grow together even more as a team and therefore become even better defensively,” she says. Otherwise it will be extremely difficult, especially in the possible round of 16 against France.

A group from Hamburg, for whom the Ecuador game was the first stadium visit of their trip, remains optimistic despite the defeat. They still look at their cheering opponents with respect: “The Ecuadorian fans were really cool, you really treat them.” That doesn’t change our own confidence: “We still believe we’ll go far.”

Veronika isn’t discouraged by the defeat either: “I’m sure they’ll concentrate extremely well and move forward,” she says. Even if it wasn’t a brilliant performance today, she believes: “They can do it. They’ll come back to the finals in New York.”