Ecuador declare national holiday after stunning Germany, as referee Tori Penso faces sexist abuse

Ecuador’s 2-1 defeat of Germany at the 2026 World Cup on Thursday prompted President Daniel Noboa to declare Friday, June 26, a national holiday, as the country celebrated one of its most significant results in football history. The win, secured under coach Sebastian Beccacece, also left Scotland on the brink of elimination and ignited a fierce internal row inside the Germany camp.

The result was not without controversy. Ecuador felt there was a foul in the build-up to Leroy Sané’s opening goal after just two minutes, and the decision drew immediate scrutiny of American referee Tori Penso. Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri, a SportItalia correspondent with over 220,000 followers on X, posted a message that was quickly condemned as sexist, writing: “Unbelievable how Germany goal could be allowed. Woman American referee Toni Penso is at it again. So far World Cup refereeing have been absolutely on point, except 3 decisive mistakes.. 2 out of these 3 were mistakes from woman American referee Toni Penso. Enough with her.” Further sexist posts from fans followed, though many others publicly defended Penso and condemned the abuse.

Inside the Germany squad, the fallout from the defeat opened a visible rift. Striker Deniz Undav said after the game that Ecuador “wanted it more” than Germany, a view echoed by Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala. Head coach Julian Nagelsmann rejected that assessment bluntly, saying: “Ecuador wanted it more than we did? That’s nonsense.”

For Scotland, the result was damaging. Steve Clarke’s side now face elimination if Belgium avoid defeat against New Zealand and Iran avoid defeat against Egypt — a scenario that would see Scotland exit the tournament at the group stage.

Elsewhere, the ITV studio covering the USA’s defeat to Turkey was briefly thrown into chaos during half-time when a nearby firework display startled the broadcast team. Presenter Laura Woods said the display was “absolutely terrifying when it kicked off”, though she and pundits Juan Mata, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Ange Postecoglou quickly saw the funny side.