Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao: World Cup 2026's Most Boring Game Is a Last Man Standing Coin Flip
Ecuador and Curaçao played out a scoreless draw at World Cup 2026. Whether that keeps you alive in your Last Man Standing pool depends entirely on your pool's rules.
20 June 2026
Result
Ecuador 0-0 Curaçao in Group E. Neither side created much, neither side conceded, and the headline stat from this one is that nothing happened. Both teams sit on one point after two games, both already out of the running for top spot now that Germany have wrapped up the group, and both still have something worth playing for in the final round: a place among the best third-placed teams.
What it means for Last Man Standing pools
This is the result that splits pools in two. If your competition only eliminates you for a loss, congratulations, you're still in if you backed either side. If your pool eliminates you for anything other than a win, you're out, and it doesn't matter that the scoreline was 0-0 rather than a defeat.
Check your pool's rules before you assume anything. This is exactly the trap covered in our piece on the World Cup group stage trap: a result that looks harmless on paper can be the difference between staying alive and getting knocked out, depending on how your organiser set things up at the start.
What it means for predictor and score games
For score predictor games, 0-0 is one of the hardest results to call and a satisfying one to get right if you did. Anyone who predicted goals from either side will have come away with nothing, which makes this match a leveller. There's no margin of error to lean on when the final score is nil-nil. You either called it or you didn't.
The bigger picture in Group E
Germany have already secured top spot with six points from two games. That leaves Ivory Coast, Ecuador, and Curaçao fighting over second place and the third-place qualification places. Ivory Coast, on three points after their loss to Germany, are in the strongest position of the three. Ecuador and Curaçao both need a win in their final game and a favourable set of results elsewhere to have any real hope.
Neither team will be many people's pick going into the final round, but if your pool rewards survival over style, a draw like this one is sometimes exactly what you need.
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