A dramatic 90th-minute strike from World Cup debutant Amad Diallo propelled Côte d’Ivoire to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their Group E opener at Philadelphia Stadium.
Coming off the bench in the second half, the Manchester United winger provided the decisive moment in a fiercely contested match that had previously been defined by near misses and extraordinary defensive resilience from both sides.
The late heartbreaker also decisively snapped Ecuador’s impressive 19-game unbeaten streak.
The opening half-hour belonged firmly to Ecuador, who routinely exposed the Ivorian backline but were repeatedly denied by the thinnest of margins.
Both John Yeboah and Alan Minda rattled the crossbar in the first half-hour, leaving the South American side wondering what might have been.
The Elephants slowly found their footing as the match progressed, carving out dangerous chances of their own through a standout performance by Yan Diomande, but a desperate, last-ditch block by Moisés Caicedo on a Nicolas Pépé penalty-spot effort kept the score locked at a tense 0-0 heading into the interval.
The tactical gridlock finally shattered in the final minute of regulation time. Right-back Wilfried Singo joined the attack, launching a phenomenal driving run halfway down the pitch before pulling an accurate cross back into the box. Waiting in the area, Amad met the ball cleanly, burying a first-time, left-footed strike past Ecuadorian goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez to send the Ivorian fans into absolute raptures.
The victory places Côte d’Ivoire second in Group E alongside Germany, setting up a massive heavyweight clash against the Germans on June 20.
