Amad Diallo came off the bench to score the winner for Ivory Coast against Ecuador on Sunday, making the most of his limited time on the pitch. The Manchester United winger had to make do with a spot on the bench, with RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande and Hoffenheim’s Bazoumana Touré out wide and Nice forward Elye Wahi and Villarreal’s Nicolas Pepe up front.
Diallo replaced Toure 56 minutes into the clash in Philadelphia and scored the winner as the clock ticked to 90. Galatasaray defender Wilfried Singo made a brilliant run down the right, squaring the ball to Diallo who coolly slotted home.
Diallo's Reaction
One of the star names in the Ivory Coast squad, the 23-year-old said he was only focussed on helping his team, whether it is from the bench or in the starting XI. ‘It’s a lot of emotions. First match in the World Cup, first goal. But that’s not my goal. My goal is to help the team, help the group and move forward,’ Amad said after the win.
‘Everyone wants to play, but we remain a team. That’s it. The coach makes five substitutes. Not everyone can come on, but that’s it, everyone is ready. Better late than never? Amad Diallo's 90th minute winner that sunk Ecuadorian hearts…
‘If the coach calls on another player, I think that he will give the best of himself and everyone is super important from the third goalkeeper to the 26th number. So we are all important and we must always stay focused.’
Group Stage Outlook
The victory gives Ivory Coast a great chance of making the knockout stages, with Germany and Curacao still to play in Group E. The Germans survived an early scare against distant underdogs Curacao on Sunday, hammering them 7-1 after conceding a surprise equaliser on 21 minutes.
On his country’s dramatic late win over Ecuador, Diallo said: ‘We needed that. We know that we came here to make history. ‘This is the first competition for each of us, and we have been super motivated since the match against France [a 2-1 friendly win earlier this month].
‘We knew that we were already mentally prepared and we are very, very happy with this victory. But it doesn’t stop there. There are two matches that we have to start with the same mentality to try to win. ‘We knew that it was going to be a difficult match because we know the Ecuadorian players, they are physically strong. We had to not get involved. We had to impose our play, and that’s what we tried to do. ‘They made things difficult for us, of course, but we stayed clear headed. We stayed focused. And in the end, we won three points. Now we have to focus on the next two matches.’
Ivory Coast now take on Germany on Saturday, with their final group game against Curacao on Thursday June 21.
