Ivory Coast break deadlock in 90th minute to defeat Ecuador

PHILADELPHIA: Substitute Amad Diallo struck in the 90th ‌minute to give Ivory Coast a deserved 1-0 win over Ecuador in both teams’ Group E opener on Saturday night.
Diallo’s first-time strike of Wilfried Singo’s cross gave ​the Ivorians their first-ever World Cup victory over South American opposition and halted Ecuador’s unbeaten run in all fixtures at 19 matches.
It also put a bow on a 19-year-old Yan Diomande’s dazzling performance as “Les Elephants” pulled even on points with a Germany side that thumped Curacao 7-1 in their opener earlier Sunday.
The promising Ivorians — who have the youngest squad at this World Cup — looked to be running out of ‌ideas before ‌Singo found space surging up the right from ​his ‌defensive ⁠post.
His cross ​reached ⁠Diallo in stride, with the 23-year-old Manchester United charge deftly guiding it into the bottom left corner with the side of his left boot to give the West Africans a dream start to their first World Cup finals appearance since 2014.
Ecuador’s best first-half chances came from Ivory Coast’s casual defending. John Yeboah and Alan Minda struck the bar in the ⁠23rd and 30th minutes, respectively.
But it was the West ‌Africans who looked better in possession, ‌with Diomande terrorizing Ecuador’s left side.
In the 35th ​minute, he picked up the ‌ball at midfield, beat fullback Piero Hincapie down the line and ‌dragged a cross into the path of Nicolas Pepe’s late run to the penalty spot.