Group E is led by four-time champions Germany and completed by reigning African champions Cote d'Ivoire, a young Ecuador and history-making debutants Curacao. Julian Nagelsmann's Germany open against Curacao in Houston, the Ivorians arrive as Africa Cup of Nations holders, and Ecuador bring one of the tournament's most organised young squads. Curacao, the smallest nation ever to qualify, make their World Cup debut under 78-year-old Dick Advocaat. This is the full fixture list with venues and dates, the qualification picture, and a prediction for who reaches the new Round of 32.
A heavyweight European seed, the champions of Africa, a fearless South American side and the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup. Here is the Group E field.
The four-time world champions. Julian Nagelsmann's side is built around the creativity of Florian Wirtz and the leadership of Joshua Kimmich and Antonio Rudiger, with the talent to win the whole tournament. Read our full Germany squad guide.
The reigning AFCON winners. Champions of Africa on home soil in 2023, Emerse Fae's Elephants carry real quality in Sebastien Haller, Simon Adingra and Franck Kessie. Read our Cote d'Ivoire guide.
The fearless young side. Solid and well-drilled under Sebastian Beccacece, Ecuador qualified comfortably from CONMEBOL with Moises Caicedo, Pervis Estupinan and teenage star Kendry Paez. Read our Ecuador guide.
The record-breaking debutants. A Caribbean island of about 156,000 people, the smallest nation ever to qualify, led by 78-year-old Dick Advocaat, the oldest coach in World Cup history. Read our Curacao guide.
Six Group E matches across three matchdays, mostly in the eastern and central United States with one game in Canada. Germany play in Houston, Toronto and the New York and New Jersey area, with the rest staged in Philadelphia and Kansas City. The two final-round games kick off at the same time. Times below are US Eastern.
For the full picture of all 104 games and kickoff times in your own time zone, use the WorldCuply.com match schedule. Germany's path is covered in detail in our Germany squad guide.
The 2026 World Cup is the first with 48 teams in 12 groups of four. That changes how a group plays out:
A group with one clear favourite and a genuine scrap for the remaining places. Here is how we see it:
Germany are the standout, but the race for second between Cote d'Ivoire and Ecuador could go to the final matchday. Follow it live with the schedule and the Match-Day Notifier.
Group E is one of 12 groups at the 2026 World Cup. Explore the rest of the WorldCuply.com guide:
Nagelsmann's four-time champions, Florian Wirtz and a young core chasing a fifth star in Group E.
Read the Germany guide ›The reigning African champions, Sebastien Haller and the Elephants on the world stage.
Read the Cote d'Ivoire guide ›Co-host USA, Paraguay, Australia and Turkiye, with the full Group D fixtures, venues and prediction.
Read the Group D guide ›All 104 fixtures across 16 host cities, with kickoff times you can filter to your team and time zone.
Open the schedule ›This guide was hand-written from the following reporting and reference pages, used to confirm the Group E teams, fixtures, venues and dates:
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