Nicolas Pepe double fires Ivory Coast into last 32 with victory over Curacao
The three-time African champions will face either France or Norway in the next round.
Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Ivory Coast reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory which eliminated tournament debutants Curacao.
Arsenal’s one-time £72million record signing gave his country a seventh-minute lead in Philadelphia, slotting in from close range following Yan Diomande’s cut back from the left.
Forward Pepe, who plays for Spanish side Villarreal, collected a pass from Ibrahim Sangare to double his tally in the 64th minute.
Following a 1-0 victory over Ecuador and 2-1 defeat to Germany, the three-time African champions kicked off knowing a draw would be sufficient to progress.
Emerse Fae’s side made a dream start, with Diomande capitalising on a defensive error to tee up Pepe to sweep home a first-time finish from inside the six-yard box.
Curacao came into the contest still in contention to reach the second round after securing a landmark first World Cup point by holding Ecuador to a goalless draw on Saturday.
Dick Advocaat’s team rarely looked like adding to the goal they managed in their opening 7-1 defeat to Germany and were dealt a knockout blow just after the hour mark when Pepe fired into the left side of the net after being played in by Nottingham Forest midfielder Sangare.
Pepe said: “It’s a source of pride and joy. We’ve qualified for the knockout stage, so for the people of Côte d’Ivoire, this is a source of pride.
“We’re going to try to go as far as possible, we have the players and the quality to do it. We’ll need to stay focused, rest up, and see who we’ll be playing against.”