Overview
Ivory Coast only needs one more point to secure second place in Group E of the 2026 World Cup when facing Curacao at the Philadelphia stadium.
Despite losing to Germany 1-2 in the previous match, coach Emerse Fae's team still holds the right to decide after a 1-0 victory over Ecuador on the opening day.
Even if Ecuador defeats Germany in the final match, Ivory Coast will still maintain second place in the group if they do not lose to Curacao, thanks to a better head-to-head record than the South American representative.
History is also waiting for the African representative. Ivory Coast has never passed the World Cup group stage and has never won twice in the same World Cup.
The attack continues to be a major support for Ivory Coast. They have scored in 10 out of 11 World Cup matches (91%) - the highest rate in the history of the tournament for teams that have played at least 3 matches.
Emerse Fae will continue to place expectations on Yan Diomande - the most outstanding breakthrough factor in the attack. This player has completed 8 successful dribbles after the first two matches, equaling the record of an African player in the first two matches at the World Cup since 1966, equaling Sunday Oliseh of Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup.
Not only Diomande, but Ivory Coast's breakthrough ability is also very noteworthy. In the match against Germany, they performed up to 20 successful dribbles - their most in a World Cup match. 3 players including Diomande, Wilfried Singo and Christ Inao Oulai all had at least four successful dribbles, a record that a recent African team achieved was Nigeria against Italy at the 1994 World Cup.
Against Curacao's still problematic defense, Ivory Coast is expected to proactively push up the attack. The Caribbean representative has faced 27 shots on target after two legs, more than the total number of shots on target that the remaining three teams of Group E have received combined (19).
However, Curacao still won a historic point when they drew 0-0 with Ecuador in the previous match, despite having to resist 15 shots on target.
Their hero is goalkeeper Eloy Room. He became the first goalkeeper since 1966 to make 15 saves in 90 minutes of a World Cup match (excluding extra time). According to the expected goals after a shot on target (xGOT), Room prevented the opponent from scoring about two goals (2.27 xGOT).
Curacao's chances of advancing are not yet closed. If they defeat Ivory Coast and Ecuador overcome Germany, coach Dick Advocaat's team can completely win a ticket to the round of 16 as one of the third-placed teams with the best results.
If they can do that, Curacao - the team ranked 83rd in the FIFA rankings before the 2026 World Cup - will become the team with the lowest ranking since the FIFA rankings were born in 1992 to pass the World Cup group stage.
Head-to-head record
This will be the first time Ivory Coast and Curacao have faced each other in history. At the same time, this is also the first time the African representative has faced a team from the CONCACAF region at the World Cup.
Score prediction: Curacao 0-2 Ivory Coast
The match between Curacao and Ivory Coast takes place at 3:00 AM on June 26 (Vietnam time).
