Ivory Coast into World Cup knockout round for 1st time as Pépé scores twice in 2-0 win over Curaçao

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ivory Coast rejoiced as players dropped to their knees on the pitch for a team photo — peerless in national team history — and they all pointed one finger toward the sky.

One, for the West African team's first-ever trip to the World Cup knockout round.

Why stop there?

“We aren’t setting any limits for ourselves," star forward Nicolas Pépé said. "I think we have huge potential.”

Les Éléphants have crashed the party and made it out of their group for the first time in four World Cup appearances. Pépé scored in each half and Ivory Coast advanced with a 2-0 victory over Curaçao on Thursday.

Players stripped off their jerseys and danced and partied in the locker room for the well-earned and overdue celebration.

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.

“If we aim to go all the way, it doesn’t matter who we play,” Pépé said.

Curaçao needed to win and instead failed to become the smallest nation to qualify for the knockout stages.

Pépé, 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 Éléphants 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 Éléphants found their adoptive fans among the crowd of 68,324 — about 40% of the population of Curaçao — at the home of the NFL's Eagles.

The fans in Ivory Coast orange went wild when Pépé 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.

Here's one more rivalry reason why new Philly fans might keep an eye on Les Éléphants — the next game is in Dallas.

“It’s a little difficult to have to leave Philadelphia,” Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Faé said.

Ivory Coast needed only a draw to advance yet played with a competitive fire and never let Curaçao seem close to getting even in this one.

Senegal and Ivory Coast were added in December by President Donald Trump’s administration to the list of countries with partial restrictions on entry to the United States, upending World Cup travel plans.

Les Éléphants still had a loud and proud turnout in Philadelphia and boasted the home-field edge on Thursday. Ivory Coast fans hugged, danced and chanted in the stands as the final seconds ticked down and the celebration kicked into another festive gear.

“We know not everyone could make the trip, and we can see there were quite a few Ivorian fans in the stadium,” Pépé said. “So, I think this victory is for them too, and they richly deserve it.”

Ivory Coast pounced when 19-year-old Yan Diomande, who came to America four years earlier as a soccer prospect who couldn’t speak any English, snared the ball when Curaçao failed to clear it and fed it to Pépé 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.

Faé, in his casual white polo shirt and black baseball cap, raised his arms in triumph once Pépé scored and punched his fists in the air on the sideline.

“My message would be, enjoy,” Faé said. “Now the group has to bask in this victory and this qualification. We're very proud, very happy.”

There was still reason to celebrate for Curaçao.

“This was a great experience for us," Room said. "It was a long journey, started a long time ago. Now we’re here. Wanted to show the world what we can do. We brought a lot of joy to the tournament. Spirit. Fight. And that we can be proud of. And I think today we also showed we can play on the highest stage.”

Curaçao 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.

“They’ve been playing full enthusiasm with a lot of guts,” said 78-year-old Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat, in potentially his last international game. “This is something we have to benefit from.”

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 Pépé, and he received tons of applause after he was named the player of the game.

“This award is a team achievement, too," he said. “I score the goals, but they come from perfect setups by my teammates, so I consider this a collective award.”

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Curaçao's Joshua Brenet (20) heads the ball in front of Ivory Coast's Bazoumana Toure (24) during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ivory Coast players celebrate at the end of the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Curaçao's Tahith Chong (21) runs on the pitch during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Fans do the wave during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe (19) and Curaçao's Deveron Fonville (24) fight for the ball during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe (19) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe (19) celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have patched a hole in their depleted rotation by acquiring struggling left-hander David Peterson in a trade with the New York Mets.

The deal was announced before Thursday’s series finale between the teams at Citi Field.

“We’re hopeful that we can get a starting pitcher that can kind of solidify some kind of needs for us and hopefully give him a fresh start and get him back to some success that he’s had,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the teams were discussing a Peterson deal for about six weeks but that negotiations ramped up after the Cubs placed Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday, adding to their injury woes in their rotation. Brown has a neck strain, and Cabrera is sidelined with a left hamstring strain.

Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Justin Steele also are on the IL. Matthew Boyd was activated from the injured list ahead of his start on Thursday in Brown’s spot.

New York received minor league infielder Cole Mathis in the trade. The 22-year-old Mathis, a second-round pick in the 2024 amateur draft, is batting .272 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs in 39 games over two stops this year.

The Cubs are hopeful their infield defense will allow Peterson — who has a 52.9% groundball rate — to benefit from the change of scenery. Chicago has one of baseball’s best defensive infields, and New York committed six errors — all in the infield — during Wednesday night’s 10-5 loss in the second game of a doubleheader.

“He’s been a really good pitcher in the big leagues, throws strikes, keeps the ball on the ground, which is something we haven’t done particularly well,” Hoyer said.

Peterson broke out in 2024, when he posted a 2.90 ERA in 21 starts following hip surgery before recording his first career save by getting the final three outs of the Mets’ wild card series-clinching win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

He was also terrific for much of last year, making the NL All-Star team and throwing his first career shutout while going 8-5 with a 3.18 ERA in his first 24 starts.

But Peterson had a 10.36 ERA over his last six starts, and the rough finish carried over into this year. The 30-year-old, who is eligible for free agency after the season, is 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA in eight starts and eight relief appearances.

He has a 10.97 ERA in three appearances this month. He allowed four earned runs and six hits in four innings in a 6-2 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.

“He’s an All-Star last year and then kind of everything went the other way,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Credit to the coaches that were here last year that put everything (into) continuing to help him (and) this year’s coaching staff. But it just didn’t work.”

Peterson was selected by New York in the first round of the 2017 draft out of the University of Oregon. He made his major league debut in 2020, when he went 6-2 with a 3.44 ERA in nine starts and one relief appearance, and was the Mets’ longest-tenured player at the time of the trade.

“It’s a tough one because you understand this is a business, but especially from my end, I had a really good relationship with ‘Petey,’” Mendoza said. “This is a guy that will come in the office and have coffee and just talk about life.”

Peterson hadn’t yet suited up for the Cubs by first pitch Thursday night. He is expected to join Chicago for this weekend’s three-game series at the Milwaukee Brewers.

Counsell said he talked to Peterson Thursday morning and sensed some excitement as well as some surprise regarding the trade.

“I think you could hear in his voice — very normal when a player’s been with an organization for 10 years and it’s their first organization and you’re traded,” Counsell said.

In a pair of corresponding moves, the Cubs designated right-hander Yosver Zulueta for assignment and optioned right-hander Gavin Hollowell to Triple-A Iowa.

The Mets placed infielder Marcus Semien on the 10-day injured list with a left hip flexor strain and recalled right-hander Daniel Duarte and infielder Ronny Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse.

Semien was batting just .214 with a .613 OPS, the latter of which was the ninth-lowest in the majors among qualified batters entering Thursday.

Mendoza said Semien has been battling the hip issue on and off all season but that it has gotten worse over the last 10 days. Semien committed two errors Wednesday night.

Juan Soto returned to the Mets’ lineup as designated hitter Thursday night after sitting out the doubleheader with a stiff back that appeared during Tuesday’s 9-6 loss.

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen and AP freelancer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

New York Mets relief pitcher David Peterson delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, June 21, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)