2026 World Cup: Ivory Coast stuns Ecuador for 1-0 win

Ivory Coast is starting the tournament on an incredible note, defeating Ecuador in a surprise 1-0 win off a late goal in the final minutes.

Ecuador may have entered the tournament as a dark horse to make it far, but it was Ivory Coast who controlled most of the second half. The Elephants held significant possession and ended with more shots in total, including shots on target.

It was a surprisingly fruitless game for the Ecuador attack, with the team not recording a shot on target until midway through the second half. But Ivory Coast continued to push, until finally finding the back of the net in the 90th minute. Assisted by Wilfried Singo, it was second-half substitute Amad Diallo who broke through for the Elephants.

However, Diallo was not the only star of the game: That title belongs to the crossbar, which denied three total goals — two for Ecuador and one for Ivory Coast — to keep the game level until Diallo finally broke through.

It was a statement victory for the Ivory Coast, who has never made it past the group stage in the World Cup. The one-goal win certainly won’t be enough to derail fellow Group E groupmate Germany, who earned a 7-1 blowout win over Curaçao earlier on Sunday, but it sets the Elephants up for a chance to potentially advance to the knockout stage for the first time.

Meanwhile, it’s a tough start for Ecuador, who entered the World Cup with a lot of promise. La Tri’s defense has been key to its run-up to the tournament, but it fell apart right at the end on Sunday. Though Ecuador’s next test against Curaçao shouldn’t be too difficult, the group stage finale against Germany may end up being do-or-die for La Tri.