Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute to lift Ivory Coast to a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their first World Cup appearance in a dozen years.
The teams combined to hit the crossbar three times before the Manchester United winger broke the deadlock to secure three points for his team at the Philadelphia Stadium on Sunday.
Diallo – who entered as a substitute in the 56th minute – broke through with a left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area that beat diving goalkeeper Hernan Galindez. Wilfried Singo set up the goal with a strong run down the right side.
Making their fourth appearance in the World Cup and the first since 2014, Ivory Coast took a big step towards reaching the knockout stage for the first time.
Elye Wahi hit the crossbar in the 52nd minute for Ivory Coast, after Ecuador’s John Yeboah and Nilson Angulo did the same in the opening half.
Ecuador, making their fifth World Cup appearance and looking to reach the knockout round for the second time, were playing a virtual home game at the stadium, otherwise known as the Lincoln Financial Field, with most of the capacity crowd of 68,274 wearing the yellow shirts of La Tri.
Ecuador looked strong before Diallo’s goal. Their best chance after halftime came in the 68th minute on Gonzalo Plata’s hard shot from about 25 yards out, which was parried away by goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
Ivory Coast were bolstered by the forward play of Yan Diomande as the Leipzig attacker created several scoring chances, particularly down the right side. That included Wahi’s near-goal on a flick following Diomande’s hard cross.
Ivory Coast, who did not concede a goal while going 8-0-2 in 10 qualifying matches, will next face four-time World Cup champions Germany, who defeated Curacao 7-1 earlier on Sunday in Group E.
Ecuador will meet Curacao. Both matches will be played June 20 .
Diomande shows Iraola what the fuss is about
The task of filling the huge vacancy left by Mohamed Salah will be right at the top of Iraola’s tasks when he settles behind his desk at Liverpool.
RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old Yan Diomande has been the name on the lips of many as the target to take the place of the ‘Egyptian king’.
Hs is one of Europe’s hottest properties and showed exactly why Liverpool are being heavily touted – along with Champions League holders Paris St-Germain – as his next destination with a man-of-the-match performance rich in promise in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win against Ecuador.
Diomande operated on the right flank in the first half, where he would play if he arrived at Liverpool to fill Salah’s old role, then on the left after the break, creating five chances in total.
He troubled Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie in the opening 45 minutes with one electrifying run, leaving the Ecuador defender trailing to set up a chance for Nicolas Pepe. Diomande also showed power and sleight of foot to escape when Ecuador doubled up on him in an attempt to snuff out his threat.
Diomande set up a second-half chance when Elye Wahi hit the woodwork, and his positive approach was reflected in 22 passes in the attacking third.
There are, understandably at only 19, elements of rawness and wastefulness about Diomande’s game, but there was enough evidence here to see why he will be on Liverpool’s radar as they move to strengthen Iraola’s new squad.
And given Iraola’s track record of moulding younger players at Bournemouth, such as 19-year-old Junior Kroupi and another teenager, Brazil forward Rayan, Diomande looks right up his street.
Credit: bbc.com
