Overview:
The Elephants have only won one of their previous four World Cup encounters against European opposition (D1 L2), while Germany have been beaten just once by an African nation on the global stage (W5 D2).
Saturday June 20, 2026
- BMO Field Toronto 11pm
Germany and Cote d’Ivoire lock horns at the BMO Field in Toronto, Canada aiming to consolidate top spot in Group E.
Both nations won their respective opening day matches with Germany humbling debutants Curacao 7-1 while Cote d’Ivoire edged Ecuador 1-0 thanks to a last gasp minute winner through Amad Diallo.
Julien Nagelsman’s charges are unbeaten in ten straight matches across all competitions scoring two or more goals in nine of those matches.
But the worries for the three-time champions will be at the back as they have conceded in four of the last five matches.
In fact, they haven’t kept a clean sheet in the world cup since beating Argentina 1-0 in the 2014 final in Brazil.
Meanwhile, the Elephants playing at the world cup for the first time after missing the 2018 and 2022 edition will hope to stun the Germanys and confirm playing in the next round.
Emerse Fae will still rely on livewire Yan Diamonde for inspiration but has a decision to make on whether to start Diallo down the right wing after he impressed when he came on.
The Elephants have only won one of their previous four World Cup encounters against European opposition (D1 L2), while Germany have been beaten just once by an African nation on the global stage (W5 D2).
The two nations’ previous and only meeting was in November 2009 when they drew 2-2 with Lukas Podolski scoring a late minute winner.
Elsewhere, Netherlands and Sweden face off in the day’s early kick off at 8pm.
On Sunday, Ecuador in Group E faces Curacao at 3am while Tunisia and Japan clash at 7am – all times East Africa.
How to watch
All 104 matches will be live on DStv on four dedicated FIFA World Cup Channels in multiple languages. The Channels are FIFA World Cup Central (Channel 222), FIFA World Cup Extra (Channel 223), FIFA World Cup Pass (Channel 225), and FIFA World Cup Swahili (Channel 224).
