PHILADELPHIA — Substitute Amad Diallo struck in the 90th minute to give Ivory Coast a deserved 1-0 win over Ecuador in both teams’ Group E opener on Saturday night.
Diallo’s first-time strike of Wilfried Singo’s cross gave the Ivorians their first-ever World Cup victory over South American opposition and halted Ecuador’s unbeaten run in all fixtures at 19 matches.
It also put a bow on a 19-year-old Yan Diomande’s dazzling performance as “Les Elephants” pulled even on points with a Germany side that thumped Curacao 7-1 in their opener earlier Sunday.
The promising Ivorians — who have the youngest squad at this World Cup — looked to be running out of ideas before Singo found space surging up the right from his defensive post.
His cross reached Diallo in stride, with the 23-year-old Manchester United charge deftly guiding it into the bottom left corner with the side of his left boot to give the West Africans a dream start to their first World Cup finals appearance since 2014.
Ecuador’s best first-half chances came from Ivory Coast’s casual defending. John Yeboah and Alan Minda struck the bar in the 23rd and 30th minutes, respectively.
But it was the West Africans who looked better in possession, with Diomande terrorizing Ecuador’s left side.
In the 35th minute, he picked up the ball at midfield, beat fullback Piero Hincapie down the line and dragged a cross into the path of Nicolas Pepe’s late run to the penalty spot. Pepe tried to sneak a second touch to get on his favored left foot, seeing his effort ultimately blocked.
In first-half stoppage time, Wilfried Singo nearly turned a spectacular bicycle kick on frame from Guela Doue’s cross.
Ivory Coast started well after the break, but in the 68th minute, a well-struck effort from Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata forced Yahia Fofana into a comfortable save.
Before that, it was more of Diomande. In the 52nd minute, his cross met Elye Wahi’s angling run, but Wahi’s first-time strike skimmed the crossbar.
And moments after switching to the left flank following two Ivory Coast changes in the 56th minute, he split Yeboah, Alan Franco and Moises Caicedo on his way into the box before firing high.
In a match played within driving distance of more than 600,000 Ecuadorian Americans estimated to live in New York and New Jersey, La Tricolor fans dominated the atmosphere, singing “Vamos Ecuatorianos!” and “Si Se Puede!” from the start and rising to their feet at every Ecuador half-chance.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
