Draft teams, stars and all the details about Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curacao » Fixtures

In the lines below, we will present you all the details of group E, in which, after the draw, the first representatives from Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curacao were assigned.

Germany: Nagelsmann rebuilt the collapsed colossus after two missed World Cups

The Panzers come to this summer's tournament with huge pressure on their shoulders and a generation that will try to repair the dark image of their last two experiences on the big stage of world football.

In the 2018 and 2022 editions, Germany deeply disappointed, being eliminated from the group stage, two shameful counter-performances for a real giant in the world of king sports, who was always present in the last matches at the final competitions.

From 2023, however, the technical bench of the “Mannschaft” was taken over by Julian Nagelsmann, at which time the reconstruction of the national team also began, and the first signs of a comeback were seen at the European Championship in 2024, hosted by Germany itself, where the hosts narrowly lost the “quarter” to Spain, the country that would win the tournament.

Although they are not among the heavy favorites to win this year's competition, “the Germans should not be considered out of the game until they board the coach“, according to the famous saying. In addition, Nagelsmann's team looks good on paper, with top players in all areas. The only unknown remains the goalkeeper, but considering the physical problems that Ter Stegen is facing, Oliver Baumann will most likely defend the “panzers”.

In the preliminaries, only the opening game was more difficult (a surprising 0-2 with Slovakia), after which things settled down, with the “Mannschaft” subsequently winning all their games and finishing first in Group A, which also included Northern Ireland, Luxembourg and, of course, Slovakia.

The best performance at the Worlds: Germany has no less than 4 supreme titles in its records, being the second most decorated nation in the history of football, on a par with Italy. Brazil occupies the first position, with 5 triumphs.

TYPE TEAM (4-2-3-1): Neuer – Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Raum – Pavlovic, Goreztka – Sane, Musiala, Wirtz – Havertz
COACH: JULIAN NAGELSMANN (38 years old, selector from September 2023)

THE STAR – FLORIAN WIRTZ
Date of birth: May 3, 2003 (age 22)
place of birth: Pulheim (Germany)
Height: 1.76 m
Club: Liverpool FC
Field position: attacking midfielder
Trophies at the national team:-

Ivory Coast: The “Elephants” are present on the main scoreboard at the World Cup for the 4th time

The African national team returns to the World Cup after 12 years of waiting, the “elephants” missing the qualification for the 2018 and 2022 editions.

The leader of the Ivorians' technical bench, Emerse Fae, said his aim at the summer competition is to qualify the team for the knockout stages, which would be a first for the Ivory Coast, who have never made it past the groups at a final world championship tournament.

The lot that the 42-year-old technician has at his disposal, however, entitles him to hope. At the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament that the Ivorians ended in the quarter-finals (2-3 with the vice-champion Egypt), Fae allowed himself the “luxury” of leaving important names at home, such as Nicolas Pepe (Villarreal, ex-Arsenal) or Simon Adingra (Monaco).

The reason? Well, it seems that the “Elephants” have a lot to choose from, and the most gratifying thing for the coach is that his team is very well compartmentalized. Among the most resounding names in the camp of the Ivorians are: Franck Kessie (midfielder at Al-Ahli, former player at Barcelona and AC Milan), Amad Diallo (extreme right, Manchester United), Evan Ndicka (stopper, AS Roma), Yan Diomande (extreme left, RB Leipzig) and Odilon Kossounou (stopper / left defender, Atalanta).

In the qualifiers, Cote d'Ivoire kept a clean sheet in 10 matches and finished top of qualifying Group F, leaving Aubameyang's Gabon at home.

The best performance at the Worlds: group stage.

TYPE TEAM (4-3-3): Fofana – Doue, Koussonou, Ndicka, Konan – Kessie, Sangare, Oulai – Pepe, Guessand, Y. Diomande
COACH: EMERSE FAE (42 years old, selector since January 2024)

Franck Kessie has 101 matches and 15 goals for the Ivory Coast national team // PHOTO: Imago Images

STAR – Franck Kessie
Date of birth: December 19, 1996 (age 29)
place of birth: Ouaragahio (Ivory Coast)
Height: 1.83 m
Club: Al-Ahli
Field position: central midfielder
Trophies at the national team: Africa Cup of Nations (2023)

Ecuador: “La Tri” come to the 2026 World Cup with the best generation in history!

Now let's move on to Ecuador, or, according to most experts, one of the serious candidates for the title of “revelation” of the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

In the international press, there is more and more talk about the fact that the selected “La Tri” team currently has the best team with which it has ever appeared at a World Cup, and the results obtained in the preliminaries confirm this.

Sebastian Beccacece's side finished the CONMEBOL qualifiers in 2nd position behind Argentina, just like in 2002, when Ecuador participated in a final World Cup tournament for the first time, and more than that, they also managed to get past the groups, achieving the best performance in the country's history.

Now, however, the expectations are much higher, given the fact that in the first 11 of the South Americans there are basic players of some top teams in Europe, such as Moises Caicedo (club world champion with Chelsea), William Pacho (UEFA Champions League winner with PSG), Piero Hincapie (Bundesliga champion with Leverkusen, now Arsenal player) or Pervis Estupinan (AC Milan).

The best performance at the Worlds: Round of 16 (2006).

Moises Caicedo has 58 matches and 3 goals for the national team of Ecuador // PHOTO: Getty Images

STAR – Moises Caicedo
Date of birth: November 2, 2001 (age 24)
place of birth: Santo Domingo (Ecuador)
Height: 1.78 m
Club: Chelsea
Field position: defensive midfielder
Trophies at the national team:-

TYPE TEAM (4-3-3): Galindez – Preciado, Ordonez, Pacho, Hincapie – Vite, Caicedo, D. Castillo – J. Yeboah, Valencia, N. Angulo
COACH: SEBASTIAN BECCACECE (45 years old, selector from August 2024)

Curacao: The smallest nation to qualify for a FIFA World Cup

Curacao represents one of the exotic and fascinating stories of the 2026 World Cup. The small Caribbean island, with a population of approximately 155,000 inhabitants, is experiencing the most important football moment in its history: first qualification to a final World Cup tournament. It's a huge feat for a nation that, until a decade and a half ago, was almost non-existent in the world of sport.

The rise of the national team began after 2010, when the federation invested heavily in academies and infrastructure, thus attracting a lot of eligible Dutch-born players. The result? A cosmopolitan generation, made up mostly of footballers raised in the Eredivisie, who turned Curacao into one of the most competitive teams in the CONCACAF area.

World Cup qualification came after a spectacular unbeaten campaign in which the islanders overcame higher-ranked opponents such as Jamaica or Trinidad & Tobago, demonstrating excellent defensive organization complemented by a brave style of play based on speed and quick transitions. Basically, the Dutch recipe.

These procedures were thought up, adapted and put into practice by Dick Advocaat, the Batavian veteran technician who has reached a considerable age (78 years old), who, most likely, is living his last experience of his coaching career on the bench of the first representative team in Curacao.

The best performance at the Worlds:-

TYPE TEAM (4-3-3): Room – Sambo, Van Ejma, Obispo, Floranus – J. Bacuna, Comenancia, L. Bacuna – Chong, Locadia, Gorre
COACH: DICK ADVOCAAT (78 years old, selector since January 2024)

Leandro Bacuna has 68 matches and 16 goals for the Curacao Islands national team // PHOTO: Imago Images

STAR – Leandro Bacuna
Date of birth: August 21, 1991 (age 34)
place of birth: Groningen (Netherlands)
Height: 1.87 m
Club: Igdir FK
Field position: central midfielder / right back
Trophies at the national team: Caribbean Cup (2017), King's Cup (2019)

Group E match schedule (Romanian time):

• June 14, 20:00 » Germany – Curacao

• June 15, 02:00 » Ivory Coast – Ecuador

• June 20, 23:00 » Germany – Ivory Coast

• June 21, 03:00 » Ecuador – Curacao

• June 25, 23:00 » Ecuador – Germany

• June 25, 23:00 » Curacao – Ivory Coast

The composition of the groups of the World Championship 2026

The composition of the groups from the World Championship 2026/ Photo: Instagram @fifaworldcup