The Sports Guru
Curacao came to their first World Cup as the smallest of small nations and left it having made the tournament wonder about them. This covers Nicolas Pepe's two goals that sent Ivory Coast into the knockout rounds for the first time in their history, and the close of a Curacao campaign that ended in defeat but not in embarrassment.
Some teams reach the knockout stages and barely break stride. Ivory Coast had never done it at all until Philadelphia, and they got there in the calm, efficient manner of a side that had decided the occasion would not unsettle them. Nicolas Pepe, once of Arsenal, scored in each half to beat Curacao 2-0 and carry Les Elephants through as Group E runners-up, into territory the nation had never previously explored. For Curacao, the smallest story at this World Cup, it was the end. They did not go quietly, and they did not go in disgrace.
Pepe settles it early
Ivory Coast needed only a point and played as though they wanted rather more. They were in front inside seven minutes, Curacao failing to clear their lines and Yan Diomande, the forward reportedly wanted by Liverpool, squaring the ball for Pepe to slot smartly into the bottom right corner. It was the worst kind of start for a side that needed to win, conceding to their own mistake before they had settled. It should have been two before the 20-minute mark, only for Amad Diallo to scuff another Diomande cross wide under pressure.
Curacao, to their credit, did not fold. Jurien Gaari, Tahith Chong and Leandro Bacuna all found shooting positions, Bacuna darting between two defenders before lashing the wrong side of the post just before half-time. The effort was honest. The end product was not there, a combined expected-goals figure of 0.13 laying bare how rarely they truly threatened Yahia Fofana in the Ivory Coast goal. They had spirit and little else, which against a side this composed was never going to be enough.
The hammer blow after the hour
There was a stretch after the break when Curacao carried the greater urgency, Dick Advocaat's side pressing for the goal that would have changed the calculation. Sherel Floranus dragged a shot just over on 55 minutes, and for a little while the idea that they might force something did not feel absurd. Then, just after the hour, the game settled its own argument. Ibrahim Sangare threaded a glorious ball into the box, Pepe opened his body and curled a controlled finish past Eloy Room, and the contest was effectively over.
It was a fittingly clinical way to seal it. Pepe scored with two of Ivory Coast's three shots on target all night, the kind of ruthlessness that separates a team going through from one going home. Emerse Fae's side never looked uncomfortable, and the second goal turned what had been a nervy lead into a procession. Curacao's heads dropped, and the final whistle, when it came, confirmed what the scoreboard had been threatening for half an hour.
Curacao leave with their heads up
The sadness around the stadium at the end said something about how far this team had travelled. As the second-lowest-ranked nation in the field, Curacao were widely expected to be overwhelmed, and for a stretch they were, shipping seven in their opening defeat to Germany. Yet they scored in that game and led for a time, then produced the campaign's most improbable point in a goalless draw with Ecuador in which Room made a record 15 saves. Going into this final game, a nation few could place on a map could still have reached the last 32. That alone was remarkable.
They could not quite manage the final step, but the manner of their exit will linger longer than the result. Ivory Coast, who had drawn earlier in the group with the same Ecuador, move on into the knockout rounds with a forward in Pepe who looks rejuvenated and a quiet belief that they belong there. Curacao go home to a welcome that will not feel like a defeat. They have had a taste of the biggest stage now, and on this evidence they will spend the next four years trying to find their way back to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 in their Group E finale at Philadelphia Stadium, watched by 68,324. Nicolas Pepe scored both goals, the first in the seventh minute after Curacao failed to clear and Yan Diomande squared the ball, and the second just after the hour from an Ibrahim Sangare pass. The win sent Ivory Coast through as runners-up, while Curacao finished bottom of the group.
The 2-0 win carried Ivory Coast into the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in their history. Finishing as Group E runners-up under manager Emerse Fae, they reached the round of 32 having never previously progressed beyond the group stage at a World Cup. Nicolas Pepe, the former Arsenal forward, was the decisive figure, scoring with two of his side's three shots on target.
Curacao, the second-lowest-ranked nation at the tournament, exceeded expectations despite finishing bottom of Group E. They lost their opener 7-1 to Germany but scored and led for a time, then earned a goalless draw with Ecuador in which goalkeeper Eloy Room made a record 15 saves. Going into the final game they could still have qualified, and although they lost to Ivory Coast, they left the tournament with their reputation enhanced.
Nicolas Pepe is the Ivory Coast forward and former Arsenal player who scored both goals against Curacao. His double sent Les Elephants into the knockout rounds for the first time in their history. Pepe took his chances clinically, slotting the opener after a Yan Diomande square ball and curling home the second from an Ibrahim Sangare assist, accounting for two of Ivory Coast's three shots on target across the match.
Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room was one of the stories of the group stage. In the goalless draw with Ecuador he made a record 15 saves, a display that kept alive Curacao's hopes of reaching the knockout rounds. Against Ivory Coast he was beaten twice by Nicolas Pepe, but his wider contribution across the tournament was central to Curacao outperforming the expectations placed on the lowest-ranked teams.
Sources: Final score, both goalscorers and minutes, the assists from Yan Diomande and Ibrahim Sangare, the missed chances, the expected-goals and shots data, venue, attendance, Curacao's earlier results including the 7-1 Germany defeat and the Eloy Room 15-save draw with Ecuador, and the Group E qualification picture, as reported in Sky Sports' coverage of Curacao 0-2 Ivory Coast at the World Cup.
