Ivory Coast’s World Cup got off to an ideal start with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Group E thanks to a goal from Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, who came off the bench.
The forward, who was unexpectedly left out of Emerse Fae’s starting lineup, used his frustration to his advantage when he replaced Bazoumana Toure ten minutes into the second half and deftly sidefooted the winner past Hernan Galindez following a lung-busting run by Wilfried Singo down the right flank.
It gave Ecuador a terrible start to their World Cup campaign and ended their 19-game winning streak, which appeared to be intact in the first half hour as they dominated the early exchanges with and without the ball and twice struck the crossbar through Alan Minda and John Yeboah.
During the brief moments the 2023 AFCON champions clicked, they never returned to those early heights and gradually looked at the mercy of Ivory Coast. Yan Diomande was active nearly the entire time, but his final product was frequently missing.
Before Amad and Ange-Yoan Bonny gave Fae’s team new life, Elye Wahi struck the crossbar in the second half. However, it was not until the last minute of regular time that it mattered, when the Man Utd winger ignited wild celebrations among the entire squad 12 years to the day after their last World Cup victory.
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