Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time.
Here are our Scout Notes from the game, which features match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.
CURUCAO 0-2 IVORY COAST
- Goals: Pepe x2
- Assists: Y Diomande, Sangare
- Shot on target bonus: Chong, Pepe
- Tackle bonus: Sangare
- Top points scorers: Pepe (14), O Diomande (9), Kossounou (9), Doue (9), Sangare (9), Operi (9), Y Diomande (7), Y Fofana (7)
TEAM STATS
PLAYER STATS
SCOUT NOTES
- Curacao had more shots than the Ivory Coast, but the African side were more efficient with the ball and by far the better team.
- Ivory Coast boss Emerse Fae made four changes to his starting XI, benching Wilfried Singo ($4.4m), Emmanuel Agbadou ($3.9m) and Ghislain Konan ($4.0m) at the back. Further forward, Christ Inao Oulai ($4.6m) also dropped out. Remember, Singo had previously suffered a hamstring injury against Germany in Round 2.
- Christopher Operi ($4.0m), Ousmane Diomande ($4.3m), Guela Doue ($3.9m) and Nicolas Pepe ($5.9m) came in for that quartet.
- The Ivory Coast victory came courtesy of two well-taken goals from Pepe – the first assisted by the lively Yan Diomande ($5.9m), the second from Ibrahim Sangare ($5.8m), who also banked a tackle bonus point.
- In the end, the Ivory Coast just had too much firepower for Curacao.
- In another impressive display, in-demand winger Diomande was lively. He created the opener and should have added a second assist shortly after, when Amad Diallo ($5.9m) scuffed his cross wide. He repeatedly got the better of his man down the left flank and looked to move the ball forward at every opportunity, creating three chances for his teammates.
- Diomande racked up 10 key passes in the group stage, the joint-second most of any player:
- Amad looked in the mood in the first half but was hooked at half-time (there has been no suggestion of an injury at the time of writing). Pepe consequently moved to the right wing after the break.
- Centre-forward Ange-Yoan Bonny ($4.9m) didn’t have a shot, but still played a crucial role, occupying the Curacao centre-backs, which in turn created space for Diomande and Pepe.
- Further changes arrived in the 67th minute, with the Ivory Coast 2-0 up and in control. Diomande, Pepe and Bonny all came off.
- A clean sheet is perfect for Yan Fofana ($4.2m) and Doue owners, with seven and nine points respectively. Singo, Agbadou and Konan remained as unused substitutes, however.
“Not everything was perfect, but we won 2-0 without conceding. That’s important for our confidence heading into the knockout stage.” – Emerse Fae
- Curacao conceded 8.3 expected goals (xG) in their three World Cup matches, the second-most of any team thus far. They are now out of the World Cup, having finished bottom in Group E.
- The win sends the Ivory Coast through as Group E runners-up, having won two matches. They will face France or Norway in the round of 32, so they are unlikely to pick up much interest.
