Côte d’Ivoire reached the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history after Nicolas Pépé scored twice in a composed 2-0 win over Curaçao in Philadelphia on Thursday night.
The Elephants went into their final Group E match knowing victory would secure qualification, and Emerse Faé’s side delivered with control, maturity and attacking quality.
Pépé, one of four changes from the team beaten 2-1 by Germany, gave Côte d’Ivoire the perfect start in the seventh minute before sealing the result with a superb second-half finish.
The win confirmed Côte d’Ivoire as Group E runners-up and sent them into the round of 32, where they will face the runners-up from Group I in Dallas on 30 June.
For Ivorian football, this was more than a result.
It was a historic breakthrough after previous generations, including those led by Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré, had failed to get beyond the group stage in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
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