Yan Diomande dazzled and Nicolas Pepe scored a brace as Côte d’Ivoire breezed past Curaçao and into their first World Cup knockout appearance.
Curaçao 0-2 Côte d’Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire goals: Pepe (7, 64)
Nicolas Pepe scored a dynamic double as Côte d’Ivoire secured their place in the knockout stages for the first time with a comfortable victory over Curaçao, whose FIFA World Cup™ debut ended on a disappointing note.
The Elephants made four changes from the team that lost 2-1 to Germany and it was one of those changes — Villarreal attacker Pepe — who made the difference.
His first came early in the match when livewire winger Yan Diomande collected a loose ball on the edge of the Curaçao box and sent a low cut back into the penalty area. An onrushing Pepe easily tapped home from close range, giving Côte d’Ivoire the lead and their fastest World Cup goal in the process.
The advantage helped the Africans establish control of the match, despite playing at a noticeably slower pace than in previous games. What few chances Curaçao had were created by Tahith Chong and captain Leandro Bacuna. Chong fired a powerful shot just over the goal late in the first half. Shortly after, Bacuna beat two defenders on the edge of the box but sent his shot wide of the near post.
Pepe doubled the Elephants lead in the second half, slotting home with his left foot after a simple give-and-go with Nottingham Forest midfielder Ibrahim Sangare left him alone in the box against Eloy Room.
Curaçao’s maiden World Cup voyage ended in Philadelphia, but will live long in the memory of the Blue Wave faithful. With the victory, Côte d’Ivoire qualify as Group E runners-up and will face the runners-up from Group I in Dallas on 30 June.
Key stat
Nicolas Pepe’s seventh-minute goal is the fastest scored by Côte d’Ivoire in their World Cup history.
What they said…
“It’s a source of pride and joy. We’ve qualified for the knockout stage, so for the people of Côte d’Ivoire, this is a source of pride. My two goals? It’s all thanks to the team. On the first one, Yan [Diomande] did a great job setting me up with the ball. The second was a magnificent pass from Ibra’ [Ibrahim Sangare], and all I had to do was get my foot on it. It’s an individual honor, but also a team one. It’s one game at a time. We’re going to try to go as far as possible, we have the players and the quality to do it. We’ll need to stay focused, rest up, and see who we’ll be playing against.” Nicolas Pepe, Ivory Coast forward
“Pride is the first word that comes to mind. We knew we could do it, and we also knew it was going to be difficult. We did it. On top of that, we finished second. We’re happy and proud, but we’re looking even further ahead. We’re going to rest up well for our next match. Ivory Coast deserves this, can enjoy it, and can celebrate tonight. They can keep cheering us on so we can go as far as possible.” Emerse Fae, head coach of Ivory Coast
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Nicolas Pepe (Côte d’Ivoire)