PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� Ivory Coast rejoiced as players dropped to their knees on the pitch for a team photo 鈥� peerless in national team history 鈥� and they all pointed one finger toward the sky.
One, for the West African team’s first-ever trip to the knockout round.
Why stop there?
鈥淲e aren鈥檛 setting any limits for ourselves,” star forward Nicolas P茅p茅 said. “I think we have huge potential.鈥�
Les 脡l茅phants have crashed the party and made it out of their group for the first time in four World Cup appearances. P茅p茅 scored in each half and Ivory Coast advanced with a 2-0 victory over Cura莽ao on Thursday.
Players stripped off their jerseys and danced and partied in the locker room for the well-earned and overdue celebration.
Ivory Coast in its tournament opener 鈥� at the same Philadelphia stadium as Thursday鈥檚 game 鈥� and lost to Germany in its Group E second game.
Ivory Coast will play June 30 against either France or Norway 鈥� whichever is the runner-up in Group I.
鈥淚f we aim to go all the way, it doesn鈥檛 matter who we play,鈥� P茅p茅 said.
Cura莽ao needed to win and instead failed to become the smallest nation to qualify for the knockout stages.
P茅p茅, who plays for the Spanish club Villarreal, wiped out all the suspense in this one early, scoring in just the seventh minute and the lead held the rest of the game in front of an enthusiastic crowd that made Les 脡l茅phants feel at home. Ivory Coast held its training base in nearby Delaware and practiced at the Philadelphia suburban home of Major League Soccer鈥檚 Philadelphia Union.
Throw in a friendly (against the Union鈥檚 second team), and the thrilling win in the 90th minute against Ecuador, and Les 脡l茅phants found their adoptive fans among the crowd of 68,324 鈥� about 40% of the population of Cura莽ao 鈥� at the home of the NFL’s Eagles.
The fans in Ivory Coast orange went wild when P茅p茅 scored again on a left-footed shot from the far corner in the 64th minute to seal the win. He was subbed out three minutes later to earn just a bit more rest for the June 30 game that will serve as the biggest one for the national team in World Cup history.
Here’s one more rivalry reason why new Philly fans might keep an eye on Les 脡l茅phants 鈥� the next game is in Dallas.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little difficult to have to leave Philadelphia,鈥� Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fa茅 said.
Ivory Coast needed only a draw to advance yet played with a competitive fire and never let Cura莽ao seem close to getting even in this one.
Senegal and Ivory Coast were by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration to the list of countries with partial restrictions on entry to the United States, upending World Cup travel plans.
Les 脡l茅phants still had a loud and proud turnout in Philadelphia and boasted the home-field edge on Thursday. Ivory Coast fans hugged, danced and chanted in the stands as the final seconds ticked down and the celebration kicked into another festive gear.
鈥淲e know not everyone could make the trip, and we can see there were quite a few Ivorian fans in the stadium,鈥� P茅p茅 said. 鈥淪o, I think this victory is for them too, and they richly deserve it.鈥�
Ivory Coast pounced when 19-year-old Yan Diomande, who as a soccer prospect who couldn鈥檛 speak any English, snared the ball when Cura莽ao failed to clear it and fed it to P茅p茅 for the easy goal past Eloy Room.
The 37-year-old Room had and helped The Blue Wave earn their first-ever point with a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Fa茅, in his casual white polo shirt and black baseball cap, raised his arms in triumph once P茅p茅 scored and punched his fists in the air on the sideline.
鈥淢y message would be, enjoy,鈥� Fa茅 said. 鈥淣ow the group has to bask in this victory and this qualification. We’re very proud, very happy.鈥�
There was still reason to celebrate for Cura莽ao.
鈥淭his was a great experience for us,” Room said. “It was a long journey, started a long time ago. Now we鈥檙e here. Wanted to show the world what we can do. We brought a lot of joy to the tournament. Spirit. Fight. And that we can be proud of. And I think today we also showed we can play on the highest stage.鈥�
Cura莽ao is an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people in the Caribbean within the Netherlands kingdom. The team relies almost entirely on players born and raised in the Netherlands.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been playing full enthusiasm with a lot of guts,鈥� said 78-year-old Cura莽ao coach Dick Advocaat, in potentially his last international game. 鈥淭his is something we have to benefit from.鈥�
Ivory Coast , who is under investigation for alleged betting-related offenses while playing for Nice, came on as a substitute in the second half after he sat out against Germany.
The historic clincher belonged to P茅p茅, and he received tons of applause after he was named the player of the game.
鈥淭his award is a team achievement, too,” he said. 鈥淚 score the goals, but they come from perfect setups by my teammates, so I consider this a collective award.鈥�
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