Ivory Coast won the duel between German group opponents against Ecuador at the start of the World Cup thanks to a late goal.
Substitute Amad Diallo scored in the 1-0 (0-0) win in Philadelphia Manchester United the goal of the day shortly before the end of regular time. Ecuador had previously played on equal terms for a long time and had better chances, especially in the first half. However, three aluminum hits prevented the South Americans from scoring.
Diallo: “We are here to make history”
“We needed this win“said match winner Diallo:”But that’s not the end of it. There are still two more games left and we have to approach them with the same attitude and try to win them too. We came here to make history.“
Ivory Coast is Germany’s next opponent in the group stage, having previously mastered their opener against Curacao 7-1. The intensive duel against the also physically strong Ecuadorians clearly showed that the DFB team will have a different quality with the Ivorians on Saturday (10 p.m. CEST in the audio stream).
Ivory Coast also plays against the spectators
The South Americans in particular started with a lot of momentum and posed an offensive threat for the first time with Moises Caicedo’s long-range shot after three minutes. It was already clear at this point that Ecuador at least had the audience advantage on its side, as Ivory Coast had to make do without the support of numerous fans due to the strict visa regulations in the USA. This quickly became noticeable: Whenever the Ivorians had the ball, loud whistles could be heard from the stands.
It is possible that Emmanuel Agbadou was also thrown off his game after a good ten minutes when he slipped away from a low cross into his own box. However, Enner Valencia missed the great chance to take an early lead, and the goal would not have counted anyway as the ball had already been out of touch. A little later, Ecuador’s John Yeboah caused danger again with a shot that was too high from the edge of the penalty area (14th minute).
The Ivory Coast, which started as expected with Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig), Bazoumana Touré (TSG Hoffenheim) and Elye Wahi (returning to Eintracht Frankfurt after a loan), got into the game better as the game went on. And the Bundesliga trio was then directly in focus: First, Touré shot just past the right post after a great pass into the left penalty area (17th), then Diomande passed strongly to Wahi, who, however, did not fully hit the ball from close range (18th).
Ecuador in double bad luck
Even though there hasn’t been a goal so far, it was a respectable game, which was also due to the fact that both teams fought with the necessary toughness and looked for shots without any major detours. However, Ecuador remained more dangerous overall and was unlucky with the actions of Yeboah (23rd) and Alan Minda (30th) that only the crossbar stood in the way.
On the other hand, Diomande repeatedly initiated good attacks thanks to his speed advantages on the right wing. Because his teammates couldn’t use the crosses and Wilfried Singo, who had moved up, clearly missed the target with his overhead kick (45th + 2), it remained a goalless draw at the break.
Ivory Coast also fails at the crossbar
After the break, Ecuador only needed a few seconds to send another murmur through the stadium: After a great combination with Gonzalo Plata, Valencia hit the outside post from a very tight angle in the left penalty area. The Ivory Coast was able to shorten the score shortly afterwards when Wahi hit the crossbar after a cross from the right (52′).
A look at the statistics at that time also showed how competitive the game was. While Ecuador had slightly more possession, Ivory Coast was just ahead in shots on goal. The duel rate was completely balanced. Only the goals were still missing, although Diomande had the next good opportunity to score after 58 minutes, but after his successful dribbling against three Ecuadorians he fell behind and clearly overshot the goal.
Thanks to Diallo – Ivory Coast strikes late
In this phase of the game, Ecuador took a little creative break on the offensive, but then had a really good chance again in the 68th minute through Plata: Yahia Fofana was able to defuse the strong, but somewhat misplaced shot. The exhausting exchange of blows slowly but surely left its mark. Both teams didn’t go at the same high pace in the final phase.
Nevertheless, the Ivory Coast should still succeed in the lucky punch. Singo had plenty of space on the right and was able to run unhindered towards the penalty area. Substitute Diallo then used his cross with a direct shot into the far corner.