Germany advances to knockout stage for first time since 2014

TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 20: Deniz Undav #26 of Germany celebrates with teammate Nadiem Amiri #20 after scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match between Germany and Cote D'Ivoire at Toronto Stadium on June 20, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Ezra Shaw - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) | FIFA via Getty Images For the first time since 2014, the German national team is headed back to the knockout stage.

class="has-text-align-none">Powered by VfB Stuttgart star Deniz Undav’s brace, the Germans escaped with hard fought 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. After momentous failures in both 2018 and 2022, the German national team will enter the knockout stage of the tournament and — if the head coach does not get in the way — make some noise.

class="has-text-align-none">That could be an issue, though, as Julian Nagelsmann continues to make some questionable decisions regarding his player selections. Undav, who has nine goals in his last eight games for Germany, started on the bench and still might not have a clear pathway into the starting XI.

class="has-text-align-none">At some point, those kinds of decisions will work against the coach either in the locker room or on the field. Regardless, the Germans are back where they belong, among the world’s best teams.

class="has-text-align-none">Now, the big question is — where do they go from here?

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