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06/25 17:38 CDT Ivory Coast into World Cup knockout round for 1st time as Pp
scores twice in 2-0 win over Curaao
Ivory Coast into World Cup knockout round for 1st time as Pp scores twice in
2-0 win over Curaao
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- Ivory Coast got goals from Nicolas Pp in each half and
advanced to the World Cup knockout round for the first time in the West African
team's history with a 2-0 victory over Curaao on Thursday.
Les lphants have crashed the party and made it out of their group for the
first time in four World Cup appearances.
Ivory Coast beat Ecuador 1-0 in its tournament opener --- at the same
Philadelphia stadium as Thursday's game --- and lost to Germany in its Group E
second game.
Ivory Coast will play June 30 against either France or Norway --- whichever is
the runner-up in Group I.
Curaao needed to win and instead failed to become the smallest nation to
qualify for the knockout stages.
Pp, 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 lphants feel at
home. Ivory Coast held its training base in nearby Delaware and practiced at
the Philadelphia suburban home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union.
Throw in a friendly (against the Union's second team), and the thrilling win in
the 90th minute against Ecuador, and Les lphants found their adoptive fans
among the crowd of 68,324 --- about 40% of the population of Curaao --- at the
home of the NFL's Eagles.
The fans in Ivory Coast orange went wild when Pp 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.
Ivory Coast needed only a draw to advance yet played with a competitive fire
the rest of the game and never let Curaao seem close to getting even in this
one.
Ivory Coast pounced when 19-year-old Yan Diomande, who came to America four
years earlier as soccer prospect who couldn't speak any English, snared the
ball when Curaao failed to clear it and fed it to Pp for the easy goal past
Eloy Room.
The 37-year-old Room had made 15 saves against a relentless Ecuador attack and
helped The Blue Wave earn their first-ever point with a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Curaao 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.
Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi, 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 Pp, and he received tons of applause after
he was named the player of the game.
___
See more of AP's World Cup coverage here
