World Cup Group E tactical guide: Ecuador’s ultra-defence, can Germany improve, and will Curacao surprise everyone?

Welcome to The Athletic’s 2026 World Cup tactical group guides, walking you through the key battles on the pitch, the players to look out for, and the fun facts to impress your friends ahead of the tournament.

Here we will break down Group E, which features Germany, Curacao, Ecuador and Ivory Coast.

It’s an eclectic mix. Germany, the 2014 winners, are the favorites, however they will be desperate to avoid a third-straight group-stage exit.

Debutants Curacao will make history as the smallest nation (in population and land size) to play at football’s biggest tournament. Only after the Dutch Antilles was dissolved in 2010 could they compete under their own flag.

Meanwhile, Ecuador and Ivory Coast could both be dark horses. The former boast a golden generation while the latter were African champions just three years ago.

Are Germany better than in 2022 and 2018? Can Curacao surprise everyone? Will Ecuador’s defence stand strong?

The games

Matchday one

• Sunday, June 14: Germany vs Curacao (1pm ET, 10am PT, 6pm BST) — NRG Stadium, Houston
• Sunday, June 14: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador (7pm ET, 4pm PT, 12am Monday BST) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Matchday two

• Saturday, June 20: Germany vs Ivory Coast (4pm ET, 1pm PT, 9pm BST) — BMO Field, Toronto
• Saturday, June 20: Ecuador vs Curacao (8pm Sunday ET, 5pm ET, 1am Monday BST) — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City

Matchday three

• Thursday, June 25: Curacao vs Ivory Coast (4pm ET, 1pm PT, 9pm BST) — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• Thursday, June 25: Ecuador vs Germany (4pm ET, 1pm PT, 9pm BST) — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
  

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Key tactical approaches

Mixed success is the best way to describe Julian Nagelsmann’s two-and-a-bit years as Germany head coach. He has installed a clear tactical identity — they want possession and territory and will press teams aggressively — but there is more style than substance so far.

In 2024 they battered Scotland on the opening night of a home European Championship, then cruised to the quarter-finals with 2-0 wins over Hungary (group stage) and Denmark (round of 16). However, they were outplayed and eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals, and came up short again on home soil in last summer’s Nations League finals. They lost to Portugal (in the semi-final) in Munich despite going 1-0 up, and were then beaten by France 2-0 in the third-place play-off at Stuttgart’s stadium.

Nagelsmann’s approach brought five straight wins in qualifying after an opening round defeat in Slovakia. The 38-year-old has shown tactical flexibility, preferring a 4-2-3-1 while occasionally switching to a 3-4-3.

Regardless of shape, his first-choice duo out wide are David Raum and Joshua Kimmich. For his club, Bayern Munich, Kimmich plays in central midfield, so Nagelsmann keeps him deeper during build-up and pushes Raum — an attack-minded left-back for RB Leipzig — further forward.

Expect them to be a 4-2-3-1 in the group stage against inferior opponents. The major question is who fills the front four spots. Germany are blessed with an abundance of attacking midfielders and wingers.

Nagelsmann found balance at the Euros two years ago with Toni Kroos rotating out to the left from central midfield, and by playing Ilkay Gundogan as one of three narrow No 10s rather than using traditional wingers. Both have since retired internationally and tweaks were needed.

Now Germany attack more vertically. Serge Gnabry (who has missed out on going to the World Cup due to injury) has been a threat with runs in-behind for through balls and the system allows the midfielders to play with freedom and fluidity.

They try to suffocate opponents out of possession. Group-stage opponents are likely to kick long in response, but better teams will try and play through, which should test how well Germany’s centre-backs can defend touch-tight — something they have struggled with this year and which has led to several opponents getting in-behind.

An opening-round match-up for Germany against Curacao has real potential to be a banana skin too. At first glance, facing the smallest-ever nation to make a World Cup — they sit 82nd in FIFA’s rankings at the time of writing and eighth amongst CONCACAF sides — is an ideal start. However, Dutchman Dick Advocaat has coached this Curacao team to be stubborn and direct.

They held Canada and El Salvador to draws in the Gold Cup last summer, exiting in the group stage after conceding an 88th-minute winner to Honduras. Lessons were learned and they went unbeaten to qualify automatically for the World Cup. The defining result was a 0-0 draw in Jamaica in November — their hosts hit the woodwork three times but Curacao survived.

Advocaat, now 78 and set to be the oldest coach in tournament history, helped recruit multiple Dutch-born footballers who had eligibility, improving their player pool as they finished top scorers among CONCACAF nations (28 goals).

Dick Advocaat has guided Curacao to their first-ever World Cup finals. (Robin van Lonkhuijsen / ANP / AFP via Getty Images)

The base shape is a 4-3-3 with the ball and 4-1-4-1 without it — hints of their Dutch connections.

Typically they play short from the goalkeeper but the centre-backs and full-backs go over the press often. The most threatening Curacao attacks come down the sides, with crosses and long shots their main routes to goal. Their wingers will come short to provide passing options and also position themselves narrow to support the striker. The build-up to their equaliser away to Australia — in an eventual 5-1 defeat — shows this at its best.

Curacao did defend in a back five against Australia, a tactic they can be expected to use throughout the tournament. They will make efforts to press — they went man-to-man in Melbourne — although Advocaat’s side are not used to playing top-level opposition.

This tournament is a massive opportunity for Ecuador. Four years ago they were coached by Gustavo Alfaro and went out in the groups after losing to Senegal in the final group game. This will be their fifth appearance at a finals and the ambition must be to better the Round of 16 finish in 2006.

That is because Sebastian Beccacece, in just under two years as national team boss, has coached them into South America’s meanest defence. Ecuador only conceded five times in 18 qualifying games, an incredible record (six games were under former head coach Felix Sanchez) which included eight 0-0 draws and 1-0 wins over Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru.

This team have mastered playing marginal football. They placed second behind Argentina in the South American round robin. “All you have to do is score one more than the opposition,” Beccacece, who was formerly Jorge Sampaoli’s assistant, told FIFA in an interview last September.

After playing a 3-4-3 in his first six matches, he switched to a 4-4-2 last March and has stuck with it since. In fact, 2025 was Ecuador’s first unbeaten calendar year since 1994, an impressive response after being knocked out of the Copa America by Argentina on penalties in the round of 16.

They press out of the 4-4-2, with the No 10 and No 9 alternating roles of pressing the centre-back and covering the defensive midfielder.

Beccacece has built this team on disciplined, hard running. They regain shape quickly, counter-press effectively and can hit opponents on the break from midfield-third regains. Their in-possession approach is patient, at times defensive with the ball. Expect short goal kicks and neat wide combinations, plus direct balls over the opposition to try and create chances — or turnovers from which they can press.

They like to attack with rotations, particularly dropping a pivot between the centre-backs and pushing their full-backs on. When Piero Hincapie is left-back, he often positions high and narrow to open switches into the left winger, commonly supplied by Moises Caicedo.

Also defensively excellent are Ivory Coast, who were the only African team to not concede a goal in qualification — they finished as top scorers too (25).

The challenge for Emerse Fae has been to build something sustainable after the incredible scenes of AFCON two years ago. They very nearly went out in the group stages at a home tournament, and were embarrassed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, with Jean-Louis Gasset fired and Fae taking over in the knockout rounds.

Fae said it was “more than a fairytale” when they recovered from 1-0 down to beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final and win. He chose a 4-3-3 system upon taking over and uses the same shape now. Like Curacao, they threaten most down the wings, blessed with a plethora of talented wingers in the form of Amad, Simon Adingra, Nicolas Pepe and Yan Diomande.

Goal kicks tend to go short and a trademark pass in build-up is an angled ball from either full-back into the feet of the No 9. Midfielders rotate to get on the ball and to facilitate the centre-backs positioning wider.

They ranked third at AFCON 2025 for possession and topped the charts for crosses, shots and dribbles per game. At times they can overplay and will give high-pressing opponents (Germany especially) chances for turnovers.

Where they can be vulnerable is in mid-block defending. Their centre-backs tend to mark touch-tight, something which Egypt exploited to knock Ivory Coast out at AFCON earlier this year (3-2 in the quarter-final).

Standout players

It’s time for Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala to shine for Germany. Wirtz is the leading attacker under Nagelsmann (10 goals and eight assists in 29 caps at the time of writing) and Musiala boasts a healthy output too, with seven goals and five assists from 17 appearances since September 2023 at the time of writing.

All three group-stage opponents will present mean defences and compact blocks to restrict space and cut central passes. If Germany can break them down, it will be because their No 10s provide magic and crash the box.

It’s also a real chance for both attacking midfielders after tough seasons. Wirtz needed time to settle and adjust to the physicality of the Premier League following a summer transfer to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen. Musiala suffered a leg break at the Club World Cup last July — he only returned for Bayern this January after excelling in 2024-25.

Two-thirds of Curacao’s midfield are the Bacuna brothers. Leandro and Juninho were both Dutch age-group internationals before switching allegiance in 2016 and 2019 respectively.

They bring technical quality and experience from Europe’s major leagues, as well as a final-third threat — 16 goals in 68 caps for Leandro and 13 in 47 for younger brother Juninho at the time of writing. The elder Bacuna likes to drop between the centre-backs during build-up. Their main goal threat? Gervane Kastaneer, who netted five times in qualification.

Ecuador have a golden generation sandwiched between veterans at either end of the pitch. Now 36, Enner Valencia still leads the line and scores most of their goals. He’s netted six times in six World Cup appearances, including two against Qatar in the 2022 tournament opener. Hernan Galindez, their goalkeeper, is 39 and saved 30 of the 34 shots he faced in qualifying.

Hernan Galindez enjoyed a superb qualification campaign. (Omar Vega/Getty Images)

The core of the team is a well-known trio: Caicedo of Chelsea, Arsenal’s Hincapie and Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Willian Pacho. All three are aged 24 and graduated from Independiente del Valle’s academy. They personify the blend of technical quality and physicality which runs through the team.

Amad is the poster boy for Ivory Coast as they attempt to make the knockout rounds for the first time at their fourth World Cup appearance. He stays high and wide in attack, often supported by the overlapping Guela Doue, and the 23-year-old bagged three goals at AFCON. He excels one-v-one, gets in the box for rebounds and has a cultured left foot.

Central midfielder Franck Kessie will be crucial too. Formerly of Milan and now with Al Ahli after a single season at Barcelona, he’s played every match under Fae at the time of writing. In fact, he could have more caps than Didier Drogba by the end of the tournament. Kessie brings a reliable goal threat (six in 29 caps since Fae started at the time of writing) along with plenty of technical quality.

Things to look out for

Neither Germany nor Ivory Coast have a clear first-choice No 9.

A fully fit Kai Havertz is likely to be Nagelsmann’s preference. Newcastle United forward Nick Woltemade mostly led the line in qualifying, finishing as their top scorer with four goals, though his club future is seen more at No 10. For a target man profile, Deniz Undav is the form choice, having scored 25 and assisted 14 for Stuttgart this term.

Fae’s first choice is Evann Guessand, the on-loan Crystal Palace forward who is nominally a winger. Oumar Diakite, capped 28 times and having scored six goals at the time of writing, is also a contender. Elye Wahi, a former France age-group player, switched allegiance to Ivory Coast in March, giving Fae another option.

Evann Guessand has filled in at centre-forward for Ivory Coast (Peter Powell / AFP via Getty Images)

Watch out for Ivory Coast’s corner threat, which is consistent enough to compensate for no goalscoring No 9. Expect all delivery types — inswingers, outswingers, short, near- and far-post — from both sides, all of which should create plenty of chances.

And for what Ecuador games lack in goals, they tend to make up for it in red cards. Eight total in the past two years, half for Beccacece’s side and half for opponents, have created some interesting game states.