Ivory Coast striker Nicolas Pepe believes the Elephants can continue their fairytale run at the FIFA World Cup after beating Curacao 2-0 on Thursday to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in the country’s history.
«We are very happy and proud to be the first Ivory Coast team to reach the knockout rounds. Everyone worked hard for this and we got our reward,» said Villarreal striker Pepe, who scored both goals in Philadelphia, one in each half.
«We don’t set limits. We have huge potential. Now we are in the knockout rounds, so we will see what happens.»
Ivory Coast finished second in Group E with six points, behind top players Germany in the head-to-head tiebreak. The Elephants started their campaign with a 1-0 win over Ecuador, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Germany.
The current team has achieved what Ivory Coast’s celebrated ‘golden generation’ of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure never managed. The West African country had qualified for three consecutive World Cups between 2006 and 2014, but each time failed to progress beyond the group stage.
Ivory Coast now travels to Dallas for a round of 32 match against the Group I runners-up on Tuesday, with France or Norway set to be the opponents.
«We are very happy. We will celebrate this and enjoy it a bit before we start preparing for what is to come,» said French-born coach Emerse Fae.
“Not everything was perfect, but we qualified and the win will be good for morale.”
Published on June 26, 2026
