Germany committed 'tactical suicide' vs Ecuador, says Nagelsmann

 Ecuador's forward Kevin Rodriguez and Germany's Malick Thiaw fight for the ball during the 2026 World Cup Group E match at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on June 25, 2026. [TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP]

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said his side, who had already qualified for the last 32 of the World Cup, had committed "tactical suicide" after Ecuador came from behind to beat the Germans 2-1 on Thursday.

Leroy Sane gave Group E winners Germany a perfect start by netting after two minutes but Nilson Angulo equalized seven minutes later.

With Ecuador chasing a place in the knockout round, they were the hungrier side and Gonzalo Plata scored a priceless winner on 77 minutes in New Jersey that put them in third place, which was enough for a place in the next phase.

"We got off to a great start," Nagelsmann said. "Unfortunately, right after scoring, we started committing tactical suicide with our positioning. That makes things difficult.

"Ecuador had everything to play for, and you could tell -- they had their foot on the gas. But I also can't say that any of my players didn't give it their all. That's too simplistic."

Nagelsmann said he would have preferred not to head into the next phase on the back of a loss -- Germany will play in the last 32 against a group third-place finisher on Monday.

"Defeat is never good, not even in a game where you can't lose top spot," the coach said.

"We'll learn our lessons and go on. We have to learn from it and improve, but we also have to look forward.

"We won a lot of matches, we lost one, and on Monday it's important to start well and give it everything to get to the next round."

Germany captain Joshua Kimmich said it was obvious that Ecuador were the more determined side.

"The difference was today that our opponent wanted to win more than us. You could really feel it, especially in the second half. This is why they won, and it was really deserved," he told reporters.

He said Germany must tighten up defensively in their last-32 game or face being dumped out of the tournament.

"We keep inviting the opposition back into the game with our turnovers, and that only makes them stronger," Kimmich said.

"Fortunately, nothing has happened yet. But we can't afford another defeat -- that's clear. We can't concede one or two goals in every game.

"We have to minimize the number of times we give the ball away, then we can beat anyone."