Nicolas Pépé’s double sent Ivory Coast into the FIFA World Cup (WC) knockout phase for the first time, as the Elephants’ 2-0 victory over Curaçao in Philadelphia sealed second place in Group E and eliminated the WC debutants.
While Curaçao head coach Dick Advocaat kept the same lineup from their 0-0 draw with Ecuador for this must-win game, Ivory Coast boss Emerse Faé made four changes, including three in defence.
The forward player to come in was Pépé, and the Villarreal man made an impact inside seven minutes as he met Yan Diomandé’s cutback with an emphatic close-range finish to score his first WC goal.
Juriën Gaari flashed a shot inches wide as Curaçao hunted an immediate response, but the Elephants ought to have doubled their lead when Franck Kessié and Amad Diallo got in each other’s way as they tried to meet Diomandé’s cross.
Ivory Coast remained in control for the rest of the half and mainly limited the Blue Wave to efforts from distance, although Leandro Bacuna created a half-chance for himself one minute before the break when he burst into the box and fired past the near post.
Advocaat’s men returned for the second half knowing they needed to score at least twice to extend their WC journey, only to nearly fall further behind shortly after the restart when Kessié’s shot took a heavy deflection and flew just wide. Sherel Floranus fired over the crossbar at the other end moments later, but Curaçao lacked the quality to threaten consistently.
Pépé showed them how it was done when he delivered the knockout blow in the 64th minute, taking Ibrahim Sangaré’s pass in his stride and curling into the top corner, meaning the Elephants have now scored seven of their last nine WC goals after HT.
The lively Tahith Chong curled straight at Yahia Fofana with 16 minutes remaining, but the fact that it was only Curaçao’s second shot on target - both courtesy of the midfielder - illustrated their lack of threat. At 82nd in the FIFA rankings, the Blue Wave were unable to become the lowest-ranked nation ever to reach the knockout phase of a WC, yet they can depart with their heads held high.
Meanwhile, after sealing their second win at the same WC for the first time, Ivory Coast will face the Group I runners-up - France or Norway - in the last 32 in Dallas.
