Amad Diallo’s stoppage-time goal secures Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Ecuador in World Cup opener

That’s the end of our live blog, with Ivory Coast securing all three points in a 1-0 win against Ecuador to sit at the top of Group E alongside Germany. See you next time!

Ivory Coast secures all three points against Ecuador in Group E after a thrilling stoppage-time goal from Amad Diallo.

Unable to retrieve the ball, Ecuador is failing to equalize the game

Six minutes of stoppage time have been added.

Nearing stoppage time, Wilfried Singo broke through Ecuador's defense and picked out Amad Diallo with his cross, who hit a brilliant first-time strike to open the scoring for the Elephants.

Guela Doue is replaced by Odilon Kossounou.

A cross from Caicedo founds a deflection from defender Konan.

In another great individual play, Diomande broke through Ecuador's defense, but Konan's resulting shot went wide.

Enner Valencia leaves the field replaced by Kevin Rodriguez.

Christ Inao Oulai and Ibrahim Sangare enter the field, taking the place of Nicolas Pepe and Seko Fofana.

Bringing Bonny down in a promising counterattack, Porozo sees the first yellow card for Ecuador.

The second half kicks off, and we are back underway.

The referee Letexier calls for the second cooling break of the game.

After a cross from Preciado down the right, Gonzalo Plata unleashed a thunderous strike, but Fofana reacted quickly to deflect the ball away.

Angelo Preciado and Jackson Porozo enter the field replacing John Yeboah and Alan Franco.

After a short corner routine, Seko Fofana received the ball on the edge of the box and unleashed a powerful shot, but Galindez, despite being heavily unsighted, caught the ball cleanly.

Now occupying the left flank, Diomande dribbled past Alan Franco with a brilliant piece of skill, but his subsequent shot flew well over Galindez's goal.

Bazoumana Toure and Elye Wahi leave the field replaced by Amad Diallo and Ange-Yoan Bonny.

Alan Minda leaves the field for Nilson Angulo.

Diomande delivered an accurate cross for Wahi to strike first time, but the striker's powerful effort rattled the crossbar once again in this game.

After goalkeeper Yahia Fofana nearly gave the ball away, the Elephants recovered to find space through Seko Fofana, who picked out Diomande, but his shot from the edge of the box sailed well over the bar.

Playing a sharp one-two with Plata, Valencia tried to shoot on goal from a narrow angle, but his effort struck the post.

Referee Letexier blows the whistle, and the second half is underway!

Ivory Coast and Ecuador are drawing 0-0 after the first 45 minutes at the Philadelphia Stadium.

Agbadou connected with a bicycle kick off a cross, but his spectacular attempt flew well over the crossbar.

Four minutes of stoppage time have been added to the first half.

After stomping directly on Enner Valencia's right foot, Doue sees the third yellow card of the game, and the third one for Ivory Coast.

After a poorly timed tackle from behind on Hincapie, Kessie picks up a yellow card, marking the second booking of the match for the Elephants.

After a brilliant run down the flank, Diomande picked out Pepe right in front of goal, but Caicedo lunged in just in time to make a crucial block.

After winning the ball back high up the pitch, Alan Minda received a brilliant through ball from Pedro Vite, but his powerful strike rattled the crossbar, marking the second time Ecuador has hit the woodwork.

After a harsh foul to Caicedo, Seko Fofana sees the first yellow card of the game for Ivory Coast.

Following the cooling break, both teams head back out onto the pitch to resume the first half.

The referee Letexier calls for the first cooling break of the game, with both teams now heading to the sideline.

After a misunderstanding in the backline, Yeboah recovered the ball and hit the post, adding another chance for Ecuador.

Diomande played a brilliant through ball to unlock the defense and find Wahi, but a scuffed shot failed to make clean contact, allowing Galindez to make a routine save.

Fofana played the ball wide to Toure, whose attempted cross morphed into a dangerous shot that flashed just wide, agonizingly grazing the far post.

After Franck Kessie turned the ball over, John Yeboah cut inside to unleash a dangerous strike, but his effort once again failed to test Yahia Fofana in goal.

After a pin-point cross from Piero Hincapie, Enner Valencia controlled the ball cleanly at the penalty spot and tried to apply a clinical finish, but his effort sailed just over the crossbar.

After some intensive first minutes, Ecuador now sits in its own half, leaving Ivory Coast to control the possession.

Forcing a turnover high up the pitch, Moises Caicedo tried his luck from distance, but his speculative effort sailed well wide of the target.

Referee Francois Letexier blows his whistle, and game is underway!

While the Ivory Coast recently shocked the world with a 2-1 friendly win over France, the truth is both of these national teams navigated incredibly successful qualification campaigns to reach the 2026 World Cup. In the case of the Elephants, they completely dominated Group F of the CAF qualifiers, finishing unbeaten with eight wins and two draws while putting up a mind-boggling stat line: 25 goals scored and zero conceded.

As for Ecuador, they have built an equally formidable defensive wall, conceding a mere five goals across 18 grueling matches in the CONMEBOL qualifiers. That suffocating defense propelled La Tri to a historic second-place finish just behind reigning champions Argentina, marking one of the finest qualification runs in the nation's history.

French official Francois Letexier has been appointed to referee Sunday's World Cup clash between Ivory Coast and Ecuador after England's Michael Oliver was forced to withdraw due to a minor injury. After previously officiating massive fixtures like the Euro 2024 final and the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League final, this marks the first time Letexier will oversee either nation, serving as a milestone debut in his World Cup refereeing career.

Match officials:

Referee: Francois Letexier
1st Assistant: Cyril Mugnier
2nd Assistant: Mehdi Rahmouni
Fourth Official: Khalid Al Turais
VAR: Jarred Gillett
AVAR 1: Willy Delajod
AVAR 2: Bram van Driessche

Head coach Sebastian Beccacece confirmed the starting lineup to face Ivory Coast for the World Cup debut (3-4-3): Hernan Galindez; Joel Ordoñez, William Pacho, Piero Hincapie; Alan Minda, Alan Franco, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Vite; Gonzalo Plata, Enner Valencia, John Yeboah.

Head coach Emerse Fae selected his eleven players to start the game against Ecuador (4-4-2): Yahia Fofana; Guela Doue, Wilfried Singo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Ghislain Konan; Yan Diomande, Seko Fofana, Franck Kessie, Bazoumana Toure; Nicolas Pepe, Elye Wahi.

Ecuador and Ivory Coast have both shown massive growth over recent years, emerging as serious forces in their respective regions. However, this high-stakes matchup marks the first time these two nations will ever share a pitch.

Ecuador has faced African opposition just once in their World Cup history, suffering a costly 2-1 defeat against Senegal in the 2022 group stage. Meanwhile, the Elephants have historically struggled against South American powerhouses at the tournament, dropping all three of their previous encounters against Argentina in 2006, Brazil in 2010, and Colombia in 2014.

The game between Ivory Coast and Ecuador will kick off at 7 PM (ET).

You can watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup live on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, Peacock Premium, FS1, Telemundo, and Hulu + Live TV.

Welcome to our live blog for the Matchday 1 Group E clash between Ivory Coast and Ecuador at the Philadelphia Stadium. Stay with us for key updates and live minute-by-minute coverage!