Côte d'Ivoire ta rubuta sabuwar shafi a tarihin ƙwallon ƙafar ƙasar a dare na Alhamis, tana kai ga matakin knockout na FIFA World Cup karo na farko cikin tarihi, bayan Nicolas Pépé ya ci kwallaye biyu a nasara ta 2-0 kan Curaçao a Philadelphia.
Sakamakon ya tabbatar da Elephants a matsayin na biyu a Ƙungiya E, yana tabbatar musu da wurin zuwa zagaye na 32, inda za su fuskanci na biyu na Ƙungiya I a Dallas a ranar 30 ga Yuni.
Pépé yana ba Elephants farkon mafarki
Emerse Faé ya yi canje-canje huɗu daga ƙungiyar da Germany ta doke da 2-1, kuma sabon layi ya amsa da sauri. A minti na 7, Yan Diomandé ya kama ƙwallon da ya fāɗi kusa da gefen yankin, ya tunkara gaba ya yanke tafiyar ƙasa ta cikin akwatin. Pépé ya isa a daidai lokaci, ya tafa a kusa kusa don ba Elephants damar birgima, yana zura mafi sauri da Côte d'Ivoire ta taɓa yi a Kofin Duniya.
Burin farko ya kawar da ƙarfi daga Curaçao, waɗanda sun iso Philadelphia da barazanar hari ta gaske — Tahith Chong, Jürgen Locadia, da ƴan uwan Bacuna cikin 'yan wasa masu iya cutar da abokan hamayya. Madadin haka, Elephants sun sarrafa gudu da haƙuri da tsari.
Curaçao yana ƙoƙarin amma Côte d'Ivoire ta kasance cikin natsuwa
Côte d'Ivoire ba su kasance cikin kwanciyar hankali gaba ɗaya a mintuna 45 na farko. Chong ya harba ƙwallon mai ƙarfi sama da sandar sama kaɗan, yayin da kyaftin Leandro Bacuna ya wuce masu tsaro biyu kusa da yankin kafin ya karkatar da harbarsa daga gatari. Sa'an nan, dakika kaɗan kafin hutun, kwallon lungu ta kusan kawo daidaito — An fitar da ƙoƙarin Sherel Floranus Gaari a layin ta Ange-Yoan Bonny a cikin muhimmin tsoma baki.
Amad Diallo ya kasance mai rai a ɗayan gefen, yana ƙoƙarin ƙirƙirar dama a mintuna 10, 18, da 23, amma ba tare da tilasta mai tsaron ƙofar Eloy Room ya aikata komai na muhimmanci ba.
Sangaré da Pépé sun tabbatar da nasara a rabin lokaci na biyu
Wasa ya rasa danginsa bayan hutun, yana ƙara rikicewa da zafi na Philadelphia da laifuka masu maimaituwa. Amma Côte d'Ivoire ta ci gaba da kasancewa mafi haɗari, kuma a minti na 64, an yanke hukunci. Ibrahim Sangaré ya aika da wucewar daidaitacciya zuwa Pépé a dama, sannan ɗan gaba ya yanke cikin zuwa ga ƙafar hagu kafin ya lanƙwaɓe wucewar kyakkyawa zuwa cikin ƙarshen kusurwa ta nesa — ƙwallon da ta cancanci dare mai tarihi.
Mai tsaron ƙofa Yahia Fofana ya kasance faɗake don hana Chong a minti na 74 yayin da Curaçao ke neman hanyar komawa, yayin da ƙungiyar Faé ta sarrafa mintuna na ƙarshe da kwakwalwa da natsuwa. Elye Wahi, wanda ya shiga wurin Pépé, ya kusan ƙara na uku a minti na 89, duk da cewa Elephants ba su buƙaci ƙarin ƙwallo.
Sabon babi ga ƙwallon ƙafa na Ivory Coast
Mahimmancin wannan nasara ya wuce iyakar sakamakon ɗaya. Tsararrakin Ivory Coast na baya — waɗanda aka gina su tare da icons kamar su Didier Drogba da Yaya Touré — sun fita a matakin ƙungiya a 2006, 2010, da 2014. Wannan tsara yanzu ta zarce shingen a ƙarshe.
Ƙungiyar Faé ta nuna juriya a duk matakin ƙungiya: ta doke Ecuador, ta yi gwagwarmaya kusa da Germany a kashi na 2-1, sannan ta jimre matsin lamba na wasan dole da Curaçao. Ga ƙwallon ƙafar Afirka, ci gaban Côte d'Ivoire sakamako ne mai ƙarfi a Kofin Duniya na 2026 da aka faɗaɗa — kuma mataki mai ƙarfi yana jiran Elephants yanzu.
