Ivory Coast’s forward #15 Amad Diallo celebrates after winning the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Ivory Coast and Ecuador at the Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia on June 14, 2026. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP)
Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 on Thursday to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time ever and bring the tiny Caribbean country’s run at the tournament to an end.
Former Arsenal forward Pepe, now playing in Spain for Villarreal, opened the scoring for the Elephants after just seven minutes in Philadelphia and netted again just after the hour mark.
Ivory Coast finish with six points in Group E with this victory following their opening 1-0 win over Ecuador and a 2-1 loss to Germany.
They therefore go through in second place behind Germany on head-to-head — the Germans lost 2-1 to Ecuador in New Jersey at the same time.
