Curacao Knocked Out, Ivory Coast Advances to the 2026 World Cup Round of 32

Ivory Coast advanced to the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup after defeating Curacao 2-0 in the final Group E fixture at Philadelphia Stadium, United States, early Friday WIB. Nicolas Pepe scored both goals for Les Elephants.

Ivory Coast took attacking initiative right from the opening minutes, leaving Curacao struggling to build and develop their own gameplay.

Ivory Coast broke the deadlock just seven minutes into the match. A well-measured pass from Yan Diomande was finished cleanly by Nicolas Pepe for the opening goal, putting Les Elephants 1-0 ahead.

Three minutes later, Amad Diallo came close to doubling the lead, but the Manchester United winger's shot drifted wide off the left side of the goal.

Curacao attempted to respond with a long-range strike from Jurien Gaari, which failed to land on target.

Tahith Chong unleashed a volley from outside the penalty box in the 40th minute, but the ball sailed high over the crossbar.

Four minutes after that, another long-range effort from Leandro Bacuna also went wide of goal.

Upon entering the second half, Nicolas Pepe doubled Ivory Coast's advantage in the 64th minute. Making full use of Ibrahim Sangare's delivery into the penalty area, Pepe beat Curacao's Goalkeeper to put Ivory Coast 2-0 up.

The 2-0 scoreline remained unchanged until the final whistle was blown.

This victory confirmed Ivory Coast finished as Group E runners-up with 6 points, level on points with group leaders Germany. However, Les Elephants settled for second position due to inferior goal difference.

Meanwhile, Curacao concluded their 2026 World Cup campaign at the very bottom of Group E and were officially eliminated from the tournament.