PHILADELPHIA (DA) — Curaçao’s first FIFA World Cup ended Thursday with a 2-0 loss to Côte d’Ivoire at Philadelphia Stadium, closing a historic debut tournament for the Blue Wave before a sellout crowd of 68,324.
Nicolas Pépé scored in the 7th and 64th minutes for Côte d’Ivoire, which finished second in Group E and advanced to the knockout phase.
For Curaçao, the loss ended a campaign that began with a heavy defeat against Germany, continued with a historic first World Cup point against Ecuador and closed with the country still chasing the win it needed to keep its hopes alive.
Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat said after the match that he did not regret keeping the lineup close to the one used against Ecuador.
“No, they played excellently,” Advocaat told Deporte Awe in the post-match press conference. “We simply competed with a world-class team. We were not timid. We competed, both defensively and going forward. You only need the luck to score from one of those attacks. We did not score from our attacks, and they did.”
Curaçao did not leave quietly. The Blue Wave finished with 11 attempts at goal, more than Côte d’Ivoire’s 7, and produced 3 headed attempts. But only 2 of Curaçao’s attempts were on target, and the team could not turn its attacking moments into a goal.
Côte d’Ivoire struck early, with Pépé giving the African side the lead inside the opening 10 minutes. Curaçao settled after the goal and stayed in the match, but the second goal in the 64th minute gave Côte d’Ivoire control of the result.
Curaçao completed 312 of 369 passes and had 38% possession control. Côte d’Ivoire completed 574 of 644 passes and had 55% possession control.
Leandro Bacuna captained Curaçao, with Eloy Room in goal and Jürgen Locadia leading the line. Juninho Bacuna received a yellow card in the 75th minute, and Gervane Kastaneer was booked in the 83rd.
Curaçao used all 5 substitutions. Jeremy Antonisse came on in the 61st minute, while Tyrese Noslin and Kastaneer entered in the 77th. Shurandy Sambo and Brandley Kuwas came on in the 90th.
Ecuador’s 2-1 win over Germany in the other Group E match confirmed the final shape of the group, with Curaçao finishing fourth with 1 point.
Asked about the future of Curaçao football, Advocaat pointed to continuity at the top.
“We have to make sure the president stays,” Advocaat said.
The tournament still marked the most important chapter in Curaçao football history. The smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup finals scored its first World Cup goal, earned its first World Cup point and took its place on the sport’s biggest stage.