22/06/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | JUNE 22, 2026

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2026 WORLD CUP

High expectations Germany has greater ambitions than advancing to knockout stage, says Nagelsmann after win over Ivory Coast

I deserves a statue, says hero Curacao keeper CURACAO GOALKEEPER Eloy Room joked that he deserves a statue on the Caribbean island after a jaw-dropping display that earned the team their first-ever World Cup point. The 37-year-old shot-stopper made 15 saves in the Group E match against Ecuador yesterday to keep alive Curacao’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages. His tally is the most on record – since 1966 – by any goalkeeper in a World Cup match that did not feature extra-time. Curacao celebrated their 0-0 draw in Kansas City wildly – days after a chastening 7-1 defeat against Germany on their World Cup debut. “It means everything,” said Room. “It feels like a victory, you know, for us. But now it means a lot. It’s the first point in the World Cup for us. “So it’s unreal if you know the journey where we come from and we’re now here. And today we showed we have real heart with the team. So it’s an unbelievable feeling.” The Miami FC goalkeeper joked that he was disappointed to miss out on former US goalkeeper Tim Howard’s record of 16 saves noted by Fifa in a match against Belgium at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil that went to extra-time. “I think he was sweating at home, you know, looking at the game,” he said. “But I heard it was also another record from really long ago. So yeah, I’m proud of that.” Room praised his teammates but cheekily suggested his achievement should be set in stone. “I’m really proud of the team also, because again, we did it with the team,” he said. “I make the saves, but we fought as a team, also the players who came in. But I think I need a statue in Curacao, I think now.” Room produced a stunning save in the open ing minutes of the match at Arrowhead Stadium, denying Ecuador captain Enner Valencia when the forward seemed certain to score. After that he produced save after save, constantly thwarting the South Americans, who are ranked more than 50 places higher by Fifa. “I think the most important save was the first one, because that set the tone of the game,” he said. “And if the ball went in, it was a difficult game. So I think that was one of the best saves, but all the other saves, I don’t even remember how they were so I had to look them back afterwards.” The Caribbean island is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Yesterday’s match at the home of NFL team Kansas City Chiefs was watched by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, who was wearing a Curacao shirt. After the game the royals danced and partied with the ecstatic team in the dressing room. “Meeting them was really special. Maxima kissed me a small kiss… I hope my wife doesn’t hear,” Room joked. – AFP

C OACH Julian Nagelsmann was thrilled by Germany’s comeback victory against Ivory Coast yester day, but stopped short of celebrat ing his side advancing to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 2014. “We have high ambitions,” Nagelsmann said when asked by AFP if book

starting lineup,” Nagelsmann said. “I think that every player would love to be in the starting lineup, but I think he’s very happy as it is right now.” Germany were chasing their opponents in the first half and the Ivorians surged ahead when Franck Kessie struck in the 30th minute. Kessie turned in from close range fol lowing strong work by teenage Ivorian phenomenon Yan Diomande, who is in the sights of some of Europe’s top clubs, including Liverpool. The Germans thought they had found the net twice in the first half. Nathaniel Brown’s corner in the 21st minute was knocked into the net by Aleksandar Pavlovic, but Paraguayan refe ree Juan Gabriel Benitez immediately called it back, adjudging that Pavlovic had fouled Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana. Then, in the 38th minute, German for ward and Arsenal star Kai Havertz had the ball in the net, but that too was disallowed, this time because of a foul by Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala. When the second half began, the Germans applied relentless pressure. The Ivorian defence held firm until the 68th minute, but ultimately the Germans broke through when Undav volleyed in a cross by Nadiem Amiri. His second, thanks to an assist from Felix Nmecha, sent Nagelsmann and the German crowd into wild celebrations as the Germans snapped a string of disap pointments at the last two World Cups. “Winning mentality, team spirit – we had exactly what you need to be successful in a tournament,” Germany defender Jonathan Tah said. “We never gave up, we kept going no matter what. The guys coming off the

ing a place in the next round was some thing to celebrate. “The most important topic for us is to focus on the next step,” he said. Germany failed to get out of the group stage both at Russia 2018 and four years ago in Qatar. Yesterday’s dramatic win, secured in extra-time with a second goal from

substitute Deniz Undav, guaran tees the Germans will advance and snaps a streak of bitter World Cup disappointment for the four-time winners. “This is exactly what we hoped for and I’m very happy for me team,” Nagelsmann said. He said that after his two-goal per formance, Undav could make the starting 11 in Germany’s third group stage match against

Ecuador, but also stressed that the Stuttgart forward was thriving as a substitute. “I could have him in the

Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room makes a save as teammate Jurien Gaari (centre) collides with Ecuador’s Pervis Estupinan during the World Cup Group E match at Kansas City Stadium yesterday. – AFPPIC

bench brought energy. Deniz deserves a special mention, outstanding!” The Elephants remain in a strong position to advance and could book Ivory Coast’s first ever ticket to the World Cup knockout with a decisive win over Curacao on Friday. “We still have everything to play for,” said Ivorian coach Emerse Fae. “I’m really happy with the performance of my play ers during these 90 min utes… I think we had two teams that deserve to win,” he added. “Our primary objec

tive is to get out of the group phase.” – AFP

Paraguay’s Almiron faces uncertainty after landmark dismissal IT WAS unclear what Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron said to Turkey’s Mert Muldur under the cover of his hand, but it may have been his last gesture in this World Cup. ing a Champions League game that the referee halted, invoking Uefa’s anti-dis Almiron made a post on Instagram of his team celebrating their 1-0 win, but made no mention of his dismissal.

brought out even more of your team mates’ fighting spirit’,” he said. Alfaro has been on a mission to shield his players from the heavy criticism endured after their opening game 4-1 trouncing by co-hosts the United States. “He was in a lot of pain because he felt that, for a player of his experience, those things can’t happen,” he said of Almiron. “But it happened. That’s it. We’re here to support him.” Alfaro said some of the new rules could hurt the game and a yellow card for Almiron would have sufficed. “The fear I have is that football loses its essence,” he added. “Let’s not become slaves to the rulebook.” – Reuters

crimination protocol. Prestianni, who denied the accusation, was given a six match suspension by Uefa for discrimi natory conduct that was deemed homo phobic. In an ill-tempered match fraught with heated exchanges, Almiron’s red card before half-time was eclipsed by Paraguay’s stunning 1-0 victory in the San Francisco Bay Area, which kept their fal tering World Cup alive and condemned Turkey to a miserable early exit. The dismissal for the former Newcastle United player means he will miss Paraguay’s decisive final Group D match against Australia on June 22.

“I want to thank the effort of my team mates today, giving everything in each ball, thank you, thank you, thank you, I’m proud to be part of this squad,” he posted alongside an image of ecstatic Paraguay players piling on top of each other at the final whistle. Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro, who hailed the fighting spirit of his players, said he accepted the rules had been applied. “The first thing I told him when he came into the dressing room was, ‘change that face, we won, don’t feel guilty about anything. What happened

Almiron on Saturday became the first player to be sent off at the World Cup for violating a strict new rule that forbids the covering of mouths during on-field confrontations, leaving Paraguay with 10 men to fend off an entire half of unre lenting Turkish attacks. The Fifa-proposed law, approved by the International Football Association Board in April, came after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was accused of mak ing discriminatory slurs to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr under the cover of his shirt dur