Nicolas Pepe showed his class with a brace and fired Cote d’Ivoire into the knock-out rounds for the very first time in their history. Nicolas Pepe led them into historic territory after a 2-0 win over Curacao to ensure they would finish second in Group E to earn their spot in the Round of 32 of the World Cup.
The winger scored within 7 minutes to wrap up a beautifully worked move from Yan Diomande to bag the fastest goal in the Ivory Coast’s World Cup history.
His finish on the volley a bit later into the corner secured Cote d’Ivoire’s victory, and it proved one of his best performances for the national team. Pepe said on his man of the match display: ‘This is the fruit of all my training. Hopefully I have more, and I hope more comes,’ the former Arsenal man said. ‘For the brace, I really have my team to thank, Yan provided for the first, and Ibra Sangare with a pass in behind for the second, it was magnificent.’
Coach Emerse Fae also heaped praise on the Villarreal man, whom the Ivorian manager identified as someone who could turn matches for them.
“Nico is an absolute quality player. He’s the type of player with the quality and experience who makes us win matches, and he demonstrated that today,” said Fae. The Ivory Coast team will go to work next on the very difficult task of preparing for either world heavyweights, France or Norway, in the Round of 32.
