Philadelphia (US), June 26 -- Nicolas Pepe credited teamwork and togetherness after scoring twice to help Cote d'Ivoire defeat Curacao 2-0 on Thursday, sending the Elephants into the FIFA World Cup knockout stage for the first time.
Pepe scored in the seventh and 64th minutes as Cote d'Ivoire finished second in Group E behind Germany, securing the country's first appearance in the last 32 after previous group-stage exits in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
"There is a lot of joy and pride," Pepe said. "It's the first time in our history that we've reached the knockout stage. But this achievement belongs to everyone - the players, the coaching staff and everyone around the team."Head coach Emerse Fae described the qualification as a historic moment fo...