Nicolas Pépé scored twice to guide Ivory Coast to a 2-0 victory over Curacao at Philadelphia Stadium on Thursday, sending Les Elephants into the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stages for the first time in the nation's history.

A crowd of 68,324 witnessed Emerse Fae's side seal second place in Group E, while Curacao — competing at their debut World Cup — finished bottom of the group.

Early control from Les Elephants

Ivory Coast needed only a point to advance, but they imposed themselves from the first whistle. Inside seven minutes, Yan Diomande exploited Curacao's failure to clear their lines and squared the ball to Pépé, who slotted calmly into the bottom right corner.

The lead should have been doubled before the 20-minute mark when Amad Diallo scuffed a Diomande cross wide under pressure, but Les Elephants remained in firm control throughout the opening half.

Curacao unable to threaten

Dick Advocaat's side refused to wilt, with Jurien Gaari, Tahith Chong, and Leandro Bacuna all registering efforts. However, a combined expected goals figure of just 0.13 reflected how little genuine danger Curacao posed in attack.

After the break, the Caribbean side showed greater urgency while trailing by a single goal — but their hopes were extinguished just after the hour mark when Ibrahim Sangare threaded a brilliant pass into Pépé's path inside the box.

Pépé seals history

The former Arsenal forward opened his body and drove a composed finish past Eloy Room to make it 2-0. The goal confirmed Ivory Coast's historic progression into the knockout rounds and ended Curacao's memorable maiden World Cup campaign.

It marked a landmark moment for Fae's side, who had never before reached the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.