Group E at the 2026 World Cup features Germany, Curaçao, Ecuador and Ivory Coast as part of the 12-group group stage format. The following are key facts and historical notes on each team, according to ESPN.
Germany, nicknamed Die Mannschaft, enters the tournament ranked 10th by FIFA and making its 21st World Cup appearance. Germany’s best finishes are four titles (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) and the nation holds a tournament record of 69 wins, 21 draws and 23 losses. Miroslav Klose is Germany’s all-time World Cup top scorer with 16 goals and Gerd Müller owns the single-tournament mark for Germany with 10 in 1970; Klose is also the country’s oldest World Cup scorer at 36 years, 29 days. Germany became the first men’s team to reach four straight World Cup semifinals (2002-2014) before failing to advance from the group stage in the last two tournaments, according to ESPN.
Curaçao, nicknamed The Blue Wave, is making its World Cup debut in 2026 and is ranked 82nd by FIFA. The team’s record lists one loss in World Cup play to date, with Livano Comenencia noted as Curaçao’s top scorer and both its oldest and youngest World Cup scorer at 22 years, 131 days (2026 vs. Germany). Curaçao is the smallest nation by population (156,000) and area (171 square miles) ever to qualify for the World Cup, according to ESPN.
Ivory Coast, Les Éléphants, is ranked 33rd and is appearing at its fourth World Cup (2006, 2010, 2014, 2026). The Elephants have a World Cup record of 4-1-5 and their best finish remains the group stage. Aruna Dindane, Didier Drogba, Wilfried Bony and Gervinho are tied as the country’s top World Cup scorers with two goals apiece; Drogba is Ivory Coast’s oldest World Cup scorer (32 years, 101 days in 2010) and Amad Diallo is its youngest in 2026 (23 years, 338 days), according to ESPN. Ivory Coast has won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1992, 2015 and 2023 and finished runners-up in 2006 and 2012.
Ecuador, known as La Tri, is ranked 23rd and making its fifth World Cup appearance (2002, 2006, 2014, 2022, 2026) with consecutive berths in 2022 and 2026. Ecuador’s best finish is the round of 16 in 2006 and the nation has a World Cup record of 5-2-7. Enner Valencia is Ecuador’s leading World Cup scorer with six goals and recorded three in single tournaments in 2014 and 2022; Valencia scored six straight World Cup goals for Ecuador from 2014-2022, and ESPN lists Eusebio (Portugal 1966), Paolo Rossi (Italy 1982) and Oleg Salenko (Russia 1994) as other players with six straight World Cup goals.
