Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has officially declared a national holiday after the country’s national football team secured a shocking 2-1 comeback victory over European giants Germany to dynamically qualify for the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Noboa announced the celebratory decision in an official post on X on Friday, highly praising the resilient players and coaching staff for defiantly overcoming harsh public criticism, insults, and difficult team moments to deliver an immense, historic joy to the entire South American nation. Ecuador had entered Thursday’s high-stakes final Group E match in desperate need of a victory after a disappointing draw with Curaçao and a tough loss to Ivory Coast in their opening two fixtures. Although the South Americans fell behind early against a dominant German side, they mounted a spectacular, gritty second-half comeback to seal the 2-1 win, instantly sparking wild, jubilant celebrations among thousands of traveling fans at the sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium in the United States. Despite suffering the unexpected defeat, Germany had already comfortably secured their qualification to the next round as Group E winners, while Ivory Coast finished second in the group after defeating Curaçao 2-0 in a simultaneous clash. Ecuador ultimately progressed to the highly anticipated round of 32 knockout stage as one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed teams, marking only the second time in football history that the nation has successfully reached the World Cup’s knockout rounds following its memorable debut appearance in the Round of 16 at the 2006 tournament in Germany.
