ROCKY ROAD:
France supporters were urged not to put the team’s colors on a statue of Rocky Balboa to protect the team from falling victim to the ‘Rocky’s curse’
Germany on Saturday night booked their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup with a dramatic injury-time winner in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, as a heroic goalkeeping performance helped tiny Curacao clinch their first-ever point in a goalless draw with Ecuador.
Substitute Deniz Undav was Germany’s savior, scoring a 68th-minute equalizer before calmly slotting his second in the fourth minute of stoppage-time to settle an enthralling game in Toronto.
It was the first time since 2014 that Germany have reached the knockout rounds after back-to-back first-round eliminations in 2018 and 2022.
Photo: AFP
“This is exactly what we hoped for and I’m very happy for my team,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
Germany’s come-from-behind victory was made even sweeter as Curacao — the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the World Cup with just 160,000 inhabitants — dug deep to secure a shock 0-0 draw with Ecuador in Kansas City. The result means Germany win Group E with a game to spare.
Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room was the hero, keeping out a record 15 shots — the most ever saves in a game that did not involve extra time — as the underdogs secured their first-ever World Cup point.
Photo: Reuters
Room joked that he deserved a statue on the Caribbean island for helping to keep alive Curacao’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.
“I’m really proud of the team also, because again, we did it with the team,” Room said. “I make the saves, but we fought as a team, also the players who came in, but I think I need a statue in Curacao, I think now.”
In Houston, the Netherlands stayed firmly on course for qualification with a stylish 5-1 demolition of Sweden.
Photo: Reuters
The win left the Netherlands, who drew 2-2 with Japan in their opening game, on four points with a healthy plus-four goal difference, which is likely to be enough to secure a place in the last 32 of the expanded 48-team tournament.
In Saturday’s late match, Japan marked the 1,000th game in World Cup history with a rampant 4-0 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico.
Japan are level on four points with the Dutch after a ruthless performance against Tunisia, who barely registered a shot on goal.
Meanwhile, France supporters were issued an urgent warning to keep their hands off Philadelphia’s iconic Rocky Balboa statue after a string of sporting misfortunes befell teams whose fans dared to dress it in their colors.
The official France supporters’ group has told traveling fans to steer clear of draping Sylvester Stallone’s famous fictional boxer in Les Bleus gear, citing Philadelphia sports folklore that has claimed several victims.
Ecuador discovered it the hard way when supporters draped the team’s yellow shirt and flag on Rocky’s shoulders before their group opener against Ivory Coast, only to see their team lose.
“Don’t touch Rocky. To all French people in Philadelphia we urge you to exercise the utmost caution,” the supporters’ group Irresistibles Francais said in a statement ahead of their next group match against Iraq today.
“Under no circumstances should you put a Les Bleus shirt or scarf on the Rocky statue! Here, the local superstition is very clear: Dressing Rocky in the colors of the opposition brings monumental bad luck and dooms the team to defeat (just ask NFL fans),” the statement said.
The superstition grew into part of NFL popular culture as visiting fans who dressed Rocky in their team colors watched their hopes crumble.
The “Rocky curse” reached its peak in 2018 when New England Patriots fans placed a Tom Brady jersey on the statue and their team lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
One desperate Ecuadoran fan later attempted to appease the statue’s wrath by leaving an offering of encebollado — a South American dish — at the base of it.
“Apparently no one wants to put their shirt on Rocky now because that’s a jinx,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said. “So we don’t have to worry about people climbing on and throwing their jersey on there unless they want to lose.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
