Before they visit Toronto next weekend to play Germany, Ivory Coast’s World Cup began with a dramatic win over Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday evening.
Manchester United forward Amad Diallo was a surprise absence from the starting lineup, but made the difference off the bench with the late match-winner for his side. Wilfried Singo charged forward from centre-back to the right wing before playing the ball laterally to Diallo, who swept it home with a one-touch finish.
The win gives them a great chance of reaching the round of 32 and World Cup knockout football for the first time in the nation’s history. That game at BMO Field could decide who wins Group E, setting the table for a memorable night on the Toronto lakeshore.
Playing in front of a heavily pro-Ecuador crowd in Philly, La Tri lost their first match since September 2024.
Les Éléphants were having a lot of success down that right flank all game long, with Arsenal left back Piero Hincapié struggling to deal with RB Leipzig’s rising star winger Yan Diomande. Diomande’s lightning-quick runs led to several chances for the African side to score, but none came to fruition in a scoreless first half.
Elye Wahi, who scored twice for Moise Bombito’s OGC Nice in the promotion/relegation playoffs to keep them in Ligue 1 for next season, had their only attempt on target of the first half, forcing a save out of Hernán Galindez at his near post.
Ecuador didn’t manage a shot on target in the 45, but twice came very close to opening the scoring with strikes that crashed back off the woodwork. A long shot from John Yeboah struck the crossbar 23 minutes in, before Alan Minda’s attempt from just outside the six-yard box also came back off the upper frame of the net.
Despite the lone shot on target, it was a thrilling back-and-forth 45 minutes of action.
After the teams swapped sides for the second half, the crossbar on the same net was struck again, this time by Wahi seven minutes after play resumed. The 2023 African champions came flying out of the gates in the second half, but like the first 45 struggled to turn many of their plays into shots on target.
Seko Fofana drove a low shot from outside the box in the 53rd minute to call Galindez back into action, while Gonzalo Plata finally got Ecuador’s first — and only — shot on net in the 68th with a powerful strike from a similar distance, forcing a stop from Yahia Fofana.
It seemed like the game was destined for the first scoreless draw of the tournament before Diallo’s late winner. That was in part thanks to the play of former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite, who played the full 90 minutes for the Ecuadorians and was excellent in the middle of the park, but couldn’t quite steer them to an important point or three.
Ivory Coast and Germany meet at BMO Field next Saturday, June 20, in a game that could now decide who wins Group E. Curaçao and Ecuador play that same day in Kansas City looking to keep their tournaments alive.
Germany kicked off their tournament with a bang against debutants Curaçao earlier on Sunday, winning 7-1 in Houston. Livano Comenencia scored a historic first World Cup goal for the small Carribean nation to tie the game at 1-1 in the first half, but the Germans showed their quality and ran away with the win as expected.
Another African nation will visit Toronto first, with Ghana taking on Panama on Wednesday night, without midfielder Thomas Partey.