EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) \u2014 A little flick of Gonzalo Plata\u2019s big toe helped Ecuador make a great escape.<\/p>\n
Plata poked the ball past Manuel Neuer in the 77th minute and lifted Ecuador to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany on Thursday and into the knockout round of the World Cup<\/a> for the first time since 2006.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is different now. We suffered a lot,\u201d said Plata, a 25-year-old winger who scored his ninth international goal. \u201cWe suffered too much in the first two matches. We would have liked to secure qualification much earlier, but now we\u2019re going forward more hungry, knowing we have to give it our all.\u201d<\/p>\n Ecuador, which has lost only one of its last 22 games, finished third in Group E with four points and advanced past the group stage for the second time, headed to a possible matchup with Mexico on Tuesday in Mexico City.<\/p>\n A four-time champion already assured of advancement by winning its first two games, Germany will play its round of 32 game Monday at Foxborough, Massachusetts, most likely against Paraguay, Australia or Sweden.<\/p>\n \u201cOn Monday it\u2019s important that we start well,\u201d Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said through a translator.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s winning streak was stopped at 11 games, one shy of the team record set in 1979-80.<\/p>\n \u201cThe difference was today that the opponent wanted to win more than us, and you could really feel it, especially in the second half,\u201d Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich said.<\/p>\n Germany went ahead on Leroy San\u00e9\u2019s second-minute goal. Aleksandar Pavlovi\u0107 chested the ball and ended up kicking Pedro Vite in the head following Nathaniel Brown\u2019s throw-in, but American referee Tori Penso didn\u2019t whistle a foul. Pavlovi\u0107 passed to Florian Wirtz, who centered to San\u00e9 just inside the penalty area to beat goalkeeper Hern\u00e1n Gal\u00edndez.<\/p>\n Nilson Angulo equalized in the ninth minute with Ecuador\u2019s first goal of the tournament following a 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast<\/a> and a 0-0 draw with Cura\u00e7ao<\/a>. Felix Nmecha lost the ball in midfield to Vite. The midfielder passed to Angulo, who dribbled toward goal and beat Neuer to the far post from just outside the area.<\/p>\n Penso originally awarded Germany a penalty kick less than 30 seconds into the second half after Joel Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez took down Kai Havertz, but a video review ruled San\u00e9 had first fouled Vite.<\/p>\n With the crowd tensing as time ran down, Plata scored after Vite\u2019s corner kick was nodded on by Kevin Rodr\u00edguez, who was 6 yards out at the near post. Neuer, the 40-year-old Germany goalkeeper who ended two years of international retirement for the World Cup, was about to grasp the ball when Plata raised his left foot and stabbed it into the net.<\/p>\n Sebasti\u00e1n Beccacece, an Argentine who has coached Ecuador for two years, sprinted to the front of the stands, his shoulder-length blond hair flowing, to hug his wife, Patricia Persson. He had been pilloried after the poor start and paraphrased a lyric from Argentine rock band Los Redondos.<\/p>\n \u201cIn loneliness you cannot always listen to what you hear. You just keep pushing forward. You ignite your fire and you continue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A crowd of 80,663 at MetLife Stadium was mostly in Ecuador\u2019s yellow. FIFA said it boosted attendance to a record 3,587,539 in the 56th game of the expanded World Cup, one more than the 52 matches for the 1994 tournament in the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt at home in all these stadiums,\u201d Rodr\u00edguez said.<\/p>\n Ecuador had prepared to return to its training camp in Columbus, Ohio, rather than head home to South America.<\/p>\n \u201cThey told us: `You will be back here,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThe staff in the kitchen, in the spa, even the drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n Ecuador isn\u2019t sure of its next opponent or even where the match will be played, so fans can\u2019t lock in travel just yet.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope they brought plenty of clothes in their luggage,\u201d Plata said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n This story corrects the name of the Argentine rock band to Los Redondos.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Sports Writers Eric N\u00fa\u00f1ez and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n