Ecuador president declares national holiday after World Cup progression

[p][b]"Thanks to the players and ‌the coach who, despite the ‌criticism, the insults, and the tough moments they went through, managed ‌to recover and give this ⁠immense ‌joy to the entire country. Tomorrow, a ​holiday!"[/b] Noboa said in a post on X.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ecuador/8tbm8Tri/"]Ecuador[/a] needed ​victory in their final Group E match on Thursday following a ⁠defeat ​by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ivory-coast/G2FRjBgn/"]Ivory Coast[/a] and a draw with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/curacao/bLLGpOkQ/"]Curacao[/a].[/p][embed guid="46e85fc2-84a2-43ee-9e6a-144034db16c7" url="https://x.com/DanielNoboaOk/status/2070288184701862099" social-type="twitter" /][p]The South American side conceded early against the Germans but ‌fought back to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ecuador-8tbm8Tri/germany-ptQide1O/?mid=zmvgtcCa"]secure the win[/a], sparking celebrations among fans at a sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] had already been assured of qualification as group winners. Ivory Coast finished second after their 2-0 win over Curacao.[/b][/p][p]Ecuador ‌qualified as one of the ​best eight third-placed teams, reaching ‌the World Cup knockout stages for only the second time. They advanced to the round of 16 at the 2006 ⁠tournament in ⁠Germany.[/p][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]