Ivory Coast breaks taboo against South Americans in World Cups; understand

Ivory Coast's 1-0 victory over Ecuador, this Sunday (14), in the first round of Group E of the 2026 World Cup, had a special meaning for the Ivorians. In addition to putting the African team in a good position in the fight for a place in the round of 16, the result ended a taboo that had accompanied the team since its debut in the World Cup.

Until then, Côte d'Ivoire had never beaten a South American team in World Cups. The curiosity is even more highlighted by the fact that the Ivorians have faced at least one opponent from South America in all of their participation in the tournament.

This is Côte d'Ivoire's fourth participation in the World Cup. The team competed in the 2006, 2010, 2014 and now 2026 editions. In their first three appearances, they ended up eliminated in the group stage.

At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the so-called "golden generation" led by Didier Drogba, Yaya Touré and Kolo Touré fell into one of the most difficult groups of the tournament. The debut was a 2-1 defeat to Argentina. Hernán Crespo and Javier Saviola scored for the Argentines, while Drogba scored the first goal in Côte d'Ivoire's history at a World Cup.

Then the Ivorians lost 2-1 to the Netherlands and ended the campaign with a 3-2 victory over Serbia and Montenegro. Even so, they finished outside the classification zone.

In 2010, in South Africa, Ivory Coast once again joined a complicated group. The team drew goalless with Portugal in their debut, but ended up defeated 3-1 by Brazil. Luís Fabiano, twice, and Elano scored for the Brazilian team, while Didier Drogba scored for the Africans. In the last round, the 3-0 victory over North Korea was not enough to avoid elimination.

Four years later, at the World Cup held in Brazil, history repeated itself again. Ivory Coast debuted with a 2-1 comeback victory over Japan, but suffered a 2-1 defeat to Colombia in the second round. James Rodríguez and Juan Fernando Quintero scored for the Colombians, while Gervinho scored for the Ivorians.

Just needing a draw to advance to the round of 16, the African team ended up defeated 2-1 by Greece in the decisive round and said goodbye to the competition in the group stage.

Thus, before the duel against Ecuador, Ivory Coast had accumulated three defeats in three clashes against South American teams in World Cups: Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

The scenario changed this Sunday. With the victory over the Ecuadorians, the Ivorians achieved their first triumph against a South American team in the World Cup.

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Source: CNN