According to Kordpress, citing the National newspaper, Deniz Ondau, a 29-year-old Kurdish and Yazidi attacker of the German national team, scored two goals after coming off the bench to give the Germans a 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast and lead his team to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup. Ondaf, whose family roots go back to the village of Kurdenshin in Turkey, is now considered one of the big stars of this competition with three goals and two assists, without appearing in the main team.

Deniz Ondau, the Kurdish and Yazidi attacker of the German national team, became the star of the match between Germany and Ivory Coast in the 2026 World Cup on Saturday night, and with two late goals, he turned the defeat into a 2-1 victory for Yulian Nagelzman's students.

Germany, which had defeated Curaçao in its first match with a score of 7-1, was behind the Ivory Coast until the 68th minute with a goal by Frank Kesse in the Toronto Stadium. But Nagelzaman's changes paid off and Ondau, who entered the field as a substitute player, first scored the equalizing goal on Nadim Amiri's pass and then scored Germany's winning goal in stoppage time.

This 29-year-old forward has become one of the most effective players of the 2026 World Cup with three goals and two assists, without ever appearing in the starting lineup.

"He can start in the next game," Nagelsmann said of Ondau after the match. "Every player wants to be in the starting line-up, but I think he is happy with his situation now."

"It's a great feeling," Ondau said after receiving the award for the best player of the match. It means a lot to me to get this award, but the most important thing is that the team won and advanced to the next stage."

From a Kurdish and Yazidi family to the German national team

Ondav was born in the town of Achim near Bremen, but his parents are Yazidi Kurds from the village of Işikli near the Turkish-Syrian border. He is the first footballer with a Yazidi background to wear the shirt of the German national team in a major tournament.

His football path was not easy either. Werder Bremen's academy rejected him at the age of 14 because of his small size; An incident that, according to him, "broke his heart". At the age of 17, Ondau went to the fourth division of Germany to continue football, and at the same time, he worked eight hours a day in a factory with a laser cutting machine to support his living expenses.

He later shone with a transfer to the Belgian club Union Saint-Giloise, then he went to Brighton in England and after a not so successful period, he was able to rise again by transferring to Stuttgart. With 19 goals in the Bundesliga last season, Ondau played an important role in securing a place in the Champions League for Stuttgart, and this performance secured his place in Germany's final squad for the World Cup.

The brilliance of this Kurdish striker has now made him one of the main figures of the 2026 World Cup and a symbol of the success of a player who started as a factory worker and rose to stardom in the world's biggest football tournament.