Pepe shines as Ivory Coast qualify for World Cup round of 32
Nicolas Pepe produced a match-winning performance to lead Ivory Coast to a 2-0 win over Curacao in a 2026 FIFA World Cup encounter on Thursday.
The Elephants booked their place in the tournament’s round of 32 thanks to a stunning brace from Pepe.
It is the first time they have qualified for the second round at a World Cup in their fourth attempt after playing in the tournament in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2026.
Pepe opened the scoring with a tidy finish in the seventh minute to set the West Africans on course for a deserved victory.
He added the second goal in the 64th, finishing off a Sangare’s pass to produce a stunning finish.
The Ivorians held on to earn the maximum points to finish second in Group E with six points.
In the other Group E match, Germany suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador but they still finished top of the group with six points with a better goal difference than Ivory Coast.
Leroy Sane gave Germany the lead in the second minute before Nilson Angulo equalised in the ninth minute.
Read Also: South Africa coach Broos slams critics after qualifying for round of 32
Gonzalo Plata scored the winning goal in the 77th minute to hand Ecuador their first win of the tournament.
The victory was enough for them to finish third in Group E with four points while Curacao finished fourth with one point.
Top Stats From Ivory Coast vs Curacao and Germany vs Ecuador
Following Nilson Angulo’s strike for Ecuador vs Germany, four different Sunderland players have now scored at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with only PSG having more individual scorers at the tournament (6).
Leroy Sané’s goal vs Ecuador (01:49) was Germany’s second-fastest scored in their FIFA World Cup history behind Ernst Lehner’s strike against Austria in 1934 (1st minute).
Nicholas Pepe is the latest player to score a brace at the 2026 World Cup.
In total, 20 different players have scored 2+ goals in a single match at this year’s tournament, more than both 2022 (18) and 2018 (10). ⚽️⚽️
Germany have now conceded in NINE consecutive World Cup games.
It’s their longest streak without a clean sheet in the competition for 72 years.
