Ivory Coast breaks deadlock, beats Ecuador with 90th-minute goal | Jefferson City News-Tribune

Ivory Coast secured a 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their Group E opener thanks to a 90th-minute strike by substitute Amad Diallo. Diallo finished Wilfried Singo’s cross with a first-time shot into the bottom-left corner, delivering Ivory Coast its first World Cup win against a South American side. The result highlighted 19-year-old Yan Diomande’s dazzling performance as the Elephants, the tournament’s youngest squad, fought to impose themselves; Ecuador’s early threats—John Yeboah and Alan Minda hitting the woodwork—showed their ambition, but Ivory Coast settled into the game after the break. The match was played near New York and New Jersey’s sizable Ecuadorian-American community.