Ivory Coast Make World Cup History as Nicolas Pepe Double 2-0 Sends Curacao Crashing Out

Ivory Coast have created World Cup history after storming into the knockout stages for the first time ever, with Nicolas Pepe’s stunning double strike sending Curacao out of the tournament.

The Ivorians only needed a draw to secure their place in the next round, but they wasted no time making their intentions clear. After three previous World Cup group-stage exits, they finally broke the curse with a statement performance.

The breakthrough arrived just seven minutes in when Curacao’s defence collapsed under pressure. Yan Diomande stole possession and set up Pepe, who calmly tapped the ball home to give Ivory Coast the dream start.

Pepe, the former Arsenal star, sealed the historic victory in the 65th minute with a sensational left-footed finish, curling the ball into the top corner beyond goalkeeper Eloy Room.

The result saw Ivory Coast finish second in Group E with six points, marking the first time they have won two matches at a single World Cup.

Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to compete at a men’s World Cup, refused to go down quietly. They pushed forward and created several dangerous chances, with their best opportunity falling to Juninho Bacuna before half-time, but his shot went wide.

Despite elimination, Curacao leave the tournament with their heads held high after earning their first-ever World Cup point with a memorable draw against Ecuador and proving they could compete against football’s bigger nations.

Ivory Coast advance. Curacao exit. But both teams leave the World Cup with their reputations bigger than ever.

Curaçao vs Ivory Coast final score, stats, facts, records.

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Ivory Coast have qualified for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup for the first time, with this their fourth appearance at the tournament (previously 2006, 2010, 2014). This is also the first time they have won multiple matches in a single edition of the World Cup (W2 L1).

Curaçao faced 30 shots on target across their three matches at the FIFA World Cup, the most by a team in the group stage of a single edition since DPR Korea in 2010 (31).

Ivory Coast have completed 43 dribbles as a team in this year’s FIFA World Cup, which is more than any team had in the group stage at either the 2022 (31 the most) or 2018 editions (33 the most).

Yan Diomande became the first player to create 10+ chances and complete 10+ dribbles across his first three FIFA World Cup appearances since 1990, when both Roberto Donadoni and Dragan Stojkovic did so.

Nicolas Pépé became just the second Côte d’Ivoire player to score 2+ goals in a FIFA World Cup match, two decades after Aruna Dindane netted a brace versus Serbia in 2006. The first of Pépé’s goals in this match was his country’s fastest ever goal in a FIFA World Cup game (6:04)

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