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Undav's Late Drama Stuns Ivory Coast, Germany Escapes BMO Field Test

·World Cup Correspondent

Deniz Undav proved to be Ivory Coast's tormentor in a 2-1 thriller at Toronto's BMO Field, where the German forward authored the ultimate comeback narrative with a pair of strikes bookending a tense second half. Franck Kessié's breakthrough for the Ivorians in the 30th minute threatened to derail Germany's tournament, but Undav's equalizer in the 68th minute breathed life back into the four-time champions. When the clock ticked into stoppage time, Undav struck again in the 90th+4th minute, snatching victory from the jaws of a potential upset in front of 43,036 fans. The late heroics underscore how quickly World Cup momentum can shift, and for Ivory Coast, the painful lesson emerges that group-stage survival demands converting precious early advantages into more substantial buffers.