Pepe’s brace fires Ivory Coast into World Cup knockout stage

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Ivory Coast secured a place in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a commanding 2-0 victory over Curacao, thanks to a clinical second-half brace from Nicolas Pepe.

The Elephants produced a disciplined performance to finish the group stage on a high, overcoming Curacao in their final Group E fixture on Thursday.

Pepe opened the scoring in the seventh minute after latching onto a perfectly weighted pass from Yan Diomande before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom-right corner to give Ivory Coast an early advantage.

The West Africans dominated possession for long spells and created several scoring opportunities but had to wait until the 64th minute to double their lead.

Ibrahim Sangare released Pepe inside the penalty area, and the experienced forward made no mistake, rifling his effort into the top-left corner to complete his brace and effectively put the contest beyond Curacao.

Curacao attempted to mount a response through Tahith Chong, Jurgen Locadia and the Bacuna brothers, but Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana produced a series of important saves to preserve his clean sheet.

Ivory Coast continued to threaten on the counter-attack and nearly added a third goal late in the game, only for Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room to deny Elye Wahi with an excellent save.

Coach Emerse Fae also used the opportunity to rotate his squad in the second half, introducing fresh legs while maintaining his side’s attacking intensity and defensive discipline.

The victory confirmed Ivory Coast’s progress to the knockout rounds, where the Elephants will look to build on their impressive group-stage campaign.

Pepe’s match-winning display underlined his importance to the Ivorian side, with his two well-taken goals providing the cutting edge that ensured a comfortable victory and safe passage into the next phase of the tournament.