PHILADELPHIA (DA) — Curaçao will face Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday at Philadelphia Stadium knowing its clearest path to the next round begins with one thing it has never done at the FIFA World Cup: win.
The Group E match kicks off at 4 p.m. local time, at the same time Ecuador plays Germany at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Curaçao enters the final group match with 1 point after a 7-1 loss to Germany and a 0-0 draw against Ecuador. Côte d’Ivoire has 3 points after beating Ecuador 1-0 and losing 2-1 to Germany.
Germany leads the group with 6 points, followed by Côte d’Ivoire with 3, Ecuador with 1 and Curaçao with 1.
For Curaçao, the equation starts with a victory. A win over Côte d’Ivoire would move the Blue Wave to 4 points and put them ahead of the African side. If Ecuador fails to beat Germany in the other match, Curaçao would finish second in Group E.
If Curaçao wins and Ecuador also beats Germany, both Curaçao and Ecuador would finish on 4 points, and the final order would depend on the group tiebreakers.
A draw or loss would end Curaçao’s chance of finishing ahead of Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire is guaranteed to finish second in Group E if it wins or draws against Curaçao.
The match comes after Curaçao earned its first point and first clean sheet in FIFA World Cup history against Ecuador. Goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves in the scoreless draw at Kansas City Stadium.
Curaçao is still looking for its first World Cup victory and will be playing an African team at the tournament for the first time. It will also be the first meeting between Curaçao and Côte d’Ivoire in an “A” international.
Côte d’Ivoire is chasing its first trip to the knockout rounds at a FIFA World Cup. The team has scored in each of its last seven World Cup matches and has opened the scoring in both of its games at the 2026 tournament.
Glenn Nyberg of Sweden will referee the match. Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Söderkvist, also of Sweden, will serve as assistant referees.