Late Amad strike seals Ivory Coast win over Ecuador

PHILADELPHIA: Ivory Coast's Amad Diallo scored a clinical 90th-minute winner to earn his side a 1-0 win over Ecuador in World Cup Group E on Sunday (Jun 14).

Wilfried Singo broke down the right wing and his pass inside to substitute Amad set up the Manchester United forward to deftly steer the ball into the far corner of the net from the edge of the box.

Ecuador's John Yeboah and Alan Minda struck the crossbar in the first half, and Elye Wahi did likewise for the Ivorians having been set up by teenager Yan Diomande, the outstanding player on the pitch.

Germany thrashed debutants Curacao 7-1 in the other group game in Houston and will meet the Ivorians next on Saturday. Ecuador face Curacao the same day.

UNBEATEN RUN

Ecuador’s 19-game unbeaten run dating back to September 2024 was brought to an end, but they will consider themselves unfortunate after spurning several opportunities in an entertaining end-to-end game.

"The game slipped away from us," midfielder Moises Caicedo said. "We played well, and they (Ivory Coast) gave it their all too.

"It’s tough to start off on the back foot, but this is just the beginning. We can’t let our spirits drop, and there are two more finals coming up. We’re going to bounce back.

"We’re leaving sad because we couldn’t bring joy to the fans who came out. It felt we were playing in Guayaquil, Quito. But we’ll fight until the end to bring them joy."

This is Ivory Coast's first win at a World Cup in exactly 12 years, since they beat Japan in Brazil in 2014, and they can now be confident of making the knockout phase at the tournament for the first time.

Yeboah was the first to rattle the crossbar with a rasping shot from the edge of the box, before Minda latched onto Pedro Vite’s pass and beat the keeper, but not the bar.

Diomande was a constant threat on the wing with his pace and skill, but blazed over the bar after dancing past two defenders and creating a chance he should have buried.

The Ivorians were next to be denied by the woodwork when Diomande picked out Elye Wahi in the box and the latter turned the ball onto the crossbar.

It looked as though it would be a frustrating finish for both sides, before substitute Amad coolly slotted home.

"We went back to the dressing room at 0-0 and second half we told ourselves we would have more space and should keep focus because in the first half we lost the ball," Ivorian coach Emerse Fae said.

"Two or three times we gave the opponent opportunities, but we held firm and notched up a good three points."