Nicolas Pépé scores twice as Côte d’Ivoire beat Curaçao 2-0

In the third round of the 2026 World Cup group stage, Curaçao lost 0-2 to Côte d’Ivoire. Early in the match, Côte d’Ivoire took the lead in the 7th minute when Nicolas Pépé finished off an assist from Yan Diomande to make it 1-0.

In the 35th minute of the first half, Nicolas Pépé was shown a yellow card. Côte d’Ivoire went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Nicolas Pépé scored again in the 64th minute after being set up by Ibrahim Sangaré. That goal extended Côte d’Ivoire’s lead to 2-0 and completed Pépé’s brace. Curaçao then picked up yellow cards through Juninho Bacuna in the 75th minute and Gervane Kastaneer in the 83rd minute, but the score did not change.

On the stat sheet, Curaçao had 37% possession compared with Côte d’Ivoire’s 63%. Curaçao attempted 11 shots with 2 on target, while Côte d’Ivoire took 7 shots with 3 on target. Corner kicks were 4 for Curaçao and 6 for Côte d’Ivoire. Offsides were 2 for Curaçao and 1 for Côte d’Ivoire. Saves were 1 for Curaçao and 2 for Côte d’Ivoire. Fouls were 11 for Curaçao and 6 for Côte d’Ivoire.

In the previous round of group play, Curaçao drew 0-0 with Ecuador, while Côte d’Ivoire lost 1-2 to Germany.