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Germany's bench emptied after Deniz Undav scored the winner in the 94th minute. Julian Nagelsmann roared with delight. The Germany fans behind the goal threw themselves in all directions, lost in the joy of an injury-time winner. For the first time since they won the World Cup in 2014, Germany are headed to the knockouts. Moments like this make it easy to believe that something special is happening with this team.

This was a victory for head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who got his substitutes spot on. But more than that, it was a win for the new guard. Unaffected by the scars of the last two tournaments, the newer faces in this squad drove the team to victory from a losing position.

The youngsters of this group stepped up. Felix Nmecha continued his strong form and is emerging as the heartbeat of this team. Jamie Leweling made a difference off the bench. Nadiem Amiri provided the cross to set up the equalizer. And there was Undav.

The Stuttgart striker, who is playing at his first World Cup just six years after playing in the third division, took control of the game once again. In two appearances off the bench at this tournament, Undav has now scored three goals and two assists. Only Cameroon's Roger Milla in 1990 scored more (four) as a substitute. He is now the story of this Germany team, and the pressure on Nagelsmann to start him will grow.

"He's a full-blooded striker," Nagelsmann said to public broadcaster ZDF after the match. "He scored two super goals. The whole group earned the victory today."

Tough loss for the Elephants
 

Ivory Coast deserved more from this game. Emerse Fae's side had more than one spell of control, and their opening goal did not come against the run of play. The team in orange won more battles in midfield, unsettling Germany, but they were also smart about how they went about it. Almost all of their attacks came down the left-hand side, where rising star Yan Diomande continually got the better of Germany captain Joshua Kimmich. 

The Elephants got under Germany's skin and made it difficult for Nagelsmann's charges to gain momentum. Eventually, one of Diomande's many surges ended with Franck Kessie converting the cross at the back post.

Animated by referring decisions that included two disallowed goals for Germany, Nagelsmann was lucky to escape a booking for his antics on the sidelines. This was exactly the kind of contest Germany did not want.

By the hour mark, it looked like an all-too-familiar World Cup story for Germany. Ivory Coast were closer to scoring a second. Germany looked asleep, adrift. In the face of this uncertainty, the Germany fans did the only thing they could do — they called for Deniz Undav.

Fairytale being written
 

Nagelsmann responded, and on came his heroes. Eight minutes later, Amiri found Undav and Germany were level. An incredible finale followed as both sides went for the win. Ivory Coast inexplicably missed a glorious chance, with Leon Goretzka saving the day for Germany. Then Nathaniel Brown and Amiri both looked to have missed Germany's game-winner. But then came Undav, sneaking into the space near the last defender, taking a touch, turning, and scoring like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Deniz deserves special mention today. The way he got into the game was outstanding," Jonathan Tah said.

"Deniz is lethal in front of goal. He doesn't need a lot of chances," Amiri told Magenta.

Nico Schlotterbeck's injury dampened the mood, as the Borussia Dortmund defender's tournament looks over.

But injuries or the defensive weakness out wide or the poor first half performance won't worry any Germany fans today. They are dreaming of winning it all again. And thanks to Curacao's historic draw against Ecuador later in the day, top spot in Group E is also officially Germany's.

After the 7-1 win against Curacao, the comparisons with that semifinal win against Brazil were inevitable, even if a little bit of a stretch. Undav's last-minute winner has echoes of Oliver Neuville's at Germany's home World Cup in 2006. Granted, this tournament isn't in Germany, but it would be fair to say the first few lines of a summer fairytale are being written at the 2026 World Cup.