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The fourth day of the , held this Sunday, resulted in two historic blowouts and a painful defeat for Ecuador, which starts the tournament with no points after losing 0-1 to Côte d'Ivoire in the final minute in Philadelphia.
The results of the 4th round of the World Cup determined the leaders of Groups E and F: Germany crushed debutant Curaçao 7-1 in Houston, and Sweden triumphed 5-1 over Tunisia in Monterrey.
Germany was relentless at NRG Stadium against a Curacao team that was making its debut in a World Cup for the first time.
Félix Nmecha opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and goals from Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz (who scored twice), Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown, and Deniz Undav completed the rout.
The only consolation for Curacao was the goal by Livano Comenencia in the 21st minute, the first goal by Curacao in World Cup history, which did not prevent the thrashing.
Germany recorded 64.7% possession and took 26 shots compared to eight from their opponent, solidifying their position as the clear favorite in Group E.
At the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey, Sweden also sent a warning signal to the rest of Group F with a merciless thrashing against Tunisia.
Yasin Ayari scored twice, and Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres, and Mats Svanberg completed the 5-1 for the Scandinavians, who lead the group with three points.
Omar Rekik scored Tunisia's consolation goal before halftime.
The most bitter match of the day was that of Ecuador, which dominated at times against Ivory Coast but failed to capitalize on its chances.
John Yeboa and Alan Minda hit the crossbar twice, and Enner Valencia missed a clear opportunity in the first half.
The Ivorian goalkeeper Yan Diomande was crucial with several key saves to keep a clean sheet.
In the 89th minute, Amad Diallo took advantage of a defensive oversight to score the only goal of the match and snatch the three points from Sebastián Beccacece's team.
Ecuador hit the posts and fell in the 90th minute in their World Cup debut, repeating a painful pattern: in Qatar 2022, they also lost to an African team, Senegal, in the group stage.
In Group F, Netherlands and Japan featured the most exciting match of the day with a 2-2 draw in Dallas.
Van Dijk opened the scoring in the 51st minute, Nakamura equalized in the 57th, Summerville made it 2-1 in the 64th, and Daichi Kamada sealed the final draw in the 88th minute in a second half with four goals that kept the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on the edge of their seats.
Australia concluded the day with a 2-0 victory over Turkey in Vancouver, in Group D.
This Monday, the World Cup action continues with Spain facing Cape Verde, Belgium against Egypt, Saudi Arabia taking on Uruguay, and France versus Senegal. These matches can be followed in the .
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