One of the upsets of the group stage — and it changed nothing at the top, yet everything below it. Germany, already certain of winning Group E after beating Curaçao and Ivory Coast, rotated and were beaten 2–1 by Ecuador in a comeback at MetLife, the South Americans striking late to flip the game. Germany still finished first on head-to-head; Ecuador's reward was bigger than pride. The win lifted them into the eight best third-placed teams, booking a Round-of-32 place that had looked gone an hour earlier.

Weird & wonderful

The team that won the group lost its final game; the team that lost the group's opener-to-middle slog snuck through the back door. In the 48-team format, how you finish third can matter as much as finishing second — Ecuador are proof.