JUN · 25 · 16:00 ET · GROUP STAGE

Ecuador v
Germany

14:00 ET

4pm kickoff on a Thursday. The LIRR and subway are running normally — no weekend crush, but the approach roads will fill after 13:00.

Jackson Heights

Roosevelt Ave between 74th and 90th Streets is Ecuador's borough in New York. The kitchen at Urubamba has been open since 1976.

Glendale, Queens

Zum Stammtisch in Glendale is the oldest German restaurant in New York. It fills fast. Reserve or arrive at noon.

Secaucus

Closest option to MetLife. Weekday rates are often better than weekend — check Thursday pricing.

The transit reality.

MetLife has no direct subway service. Every fan arrives by NJ Transit, bus, rideshare, or car — which means the post-match window is brutal without a plan. Here's what actually works.

The train platform at Secaucus fills in 8 minutes after the final whistle. Walk to the far end before the crowd moves.

Glendale, Queens

Glendale and neighboring Ridgewood in Queens were historically German-American neighborhoods, and while the demographics have shifted over a century, Zum Stammtisch on Myrtle Avenue has been the anchor for 60 years. The biergarten format, the beer list, and the schnitzel are the real thing. Germany fans know it.

Spots: Zum Stammtisch (Myrtle Ave, Glendale) — reserve two weeks out. Bohemian Hall (Steinway St, Astoria) for the outdoor biergarten that seats 400. Rolf's German Restaurant (Gramercy) for the Manhattan contingent who want a historic German room. Hallo Berlin (multiple locations) for quick, casual.

M train to Forest Ave (Glendale) · NJ Transit from Penn Station

Roosevelt Avenue, Queens

Roosevelt Avenue from 74th Street to Junction Boulevard is the main artery of New York's largest South American community, and Ecuador is heavily represented here. The food is serious, the crowds are enthusiastic, and the neighborhood understands what a big match means. On a Thursday afternoon with a 16:00 kickoff, the sidewalks fill by noon.

Spots: Urubamba (Roosevelt Ave) has been cooking Ecuadorian-Peruvian food since 1976 — the seco de pollo and llapingachos are the order. La Pequeña Colombia (Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights) for the Colombian-Ecuadorian overlap menu. Street food vendors along Junction Blvd for the walking crowd.

7 train to Junction Blvd · NJ Transit from Penn Station via Secaucus

German

Zum Stammtisch

Myrtle Ave, Glendale, Queens

Family-run since 1966. The most authentic German restaurant in New York — sauerbraten, schnitzel, rouladen. The dining room photographs like something transplanted from Bavaria. Reserve weeks ahead. Worth the M train.

M train to Forest Ave · NJ Transit from Penn Station

German

Rolf's German Restaurant

3rd Ave, Gramercy, Manhattan

Famous for Christmas decorations that stay up year-round. Wiener schnitzel, bratwurst, and an unreasonably long beer list. The Manhattan option for Germany fans who want to stay on the island before heading to Penn Station.

6 train to 28th St · NJ Transit from Penn Station

Czech beer garden

Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden

Steinway St, Astoria, Queens

Not German — Czech — but a Central European outdoor beer hall that seats 400. On a June afternoon before a 16:00 kickoff, there is nowhere better in New York to have a beer outdoors and watch other matches on the screens.

N/W train to Astoria-Ditmars · NJ Transit from Penn Station

Ecuadorian-Peruvian

Urubamba

Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens

Open since 1976. The kitchen on Roosevelt Avenue has been feeding the South American diaspora longer than most fans in this stadium have been alive. Seco de pollo, llapingachos, caldo de res. Order the whole table.

7 train to Junction Blvd · NJ Transit from Penn Station

Colombian-Ecuadorian

La Pequeña Colombia

Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, Queens

The Colombian and Ecuadorian cooking traditions overlap heavily — bandeja-adjacent platters, excellent soups, and the kind of rice that takes three hours. The outdoor area on match days has sound and flags.

7 train to 74th St · NJ Transit from Penn Station

Spanish steakhouse

Don Pepe

McCarter Hwy, Newark

The Ironbound option for a group that wants a serious sit-down meal. Don Pepe's parrilla has been the pre-match institution for New Jersey sports fans for decades. Order the whole fish.

NJ Transit Broad St Station · 20 min to stadium

The post-match reality.

The match ends around 18:00 ET. This is the best post-match transit window of the group stage — early enough that trains aren't overwhelmed, late enough that the city is still alive for dinner.

The practical move: take the 19:15 NJ Transit back to Penn Station and continue to Jackson Heights for dinner at Urubamba (still open), or to Glendale to see how the post-match crowd at Zum Stammtisch is handling the result.