Côte d'Ivoire Advances to World Cup Knockouts with Pépé's Goals

Nicolas Pépé scored two goals for Côte d'Ivoire in their 2-0 victory over Curaçao, allowing them to reach the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup for the first time in history. The match took place in Philadelphia, where Pépé opened the scoring just seven minutes into the game and netted again at the hour mark.

Côte d'Ivoire finished the group stage as leaders of Group E with six points, following a previous win against Ecuador and a loss to Germany. This achievement is significant for Côte d'Ivoire, which has made three prior World Cup appearances but had never advanced past the group stage.

Curaçao, with a population of around 160,000, became the smallest nation to reach the World Cup finals but finished bottom of their group without a win. Côte d'Ivoire's next match will be against the runner-up from another group, scheduled for next Tuesday.