Ivory Coast and Curacao Aim for First World Cup Knockout Berth in Philadelphia Showdown

PHILADELPHIA - No matter what, history will be made on Thursday in Philadelphia. The Ivory Coast and Curacao have never played in the knockout stages of the World Cup, and one of them will advance to the round of 32. On the surface, that seems like business as usual, with the Ivory Coast having won the Africa Cup of Nations as recently as 2024, but this is only Les Elephants' third appearance at the World Cup ever, as they look to make it to the knockout stages.

"It's a big dream of kids. We all want to achieve this, so we're ready, and we focus to achieve this," forward Ange-Yoan Bonny said, reflecting on the day before the match, but it's also not something that he and the squad are dwelling on. "We think for one second about this, but I think we need to think about this at the end. We just need to focus on the game. It's a game, and the history we need to focus at the end, and we need to focus on the victory first."

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On the opposite end of the spectrum are Curacao. On an island of only 158,000 people, the Blue Wave has defied the odds every step of the way to be here, already being the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup and also rebounding from a 7-1 loss to Germany to open the group stage to claim their first point in the tournament  in a goalless draw with Ecuador . A team that's already won by even being in this tournament, the view of the fans hasn't changed despite their performance so far.

"We're here to compete. We're here to enjoy ourselves, and it brings us more passion and more joy to be able to compete for that second round. So, it's one game at a time," Muryad de Bruin, managing director of the Tourist Board of Curacao, said. "We were one of the biggest, and still are, one of the biggest underdogs, but we're still in the competition. So it gives us the opportunity to keep on moving forward. Luck is on our side as well, so that's also part of the game."

Manager Dick Advocaat has also downplayed his team's chances, as not only are the Ivory Coast showing themselves as a team with the potential for breakout performance. Entering this match, Curacao are coming into the home away from home for Les Elephantes, who have been based at the home of the Philadelphia Union and are now playing their second game at Lincoln Financial Field. The Blue Wave are playing with house money, and the lack of pressure can be something used as a motivator in the match.

That comfort in Philadelphia has been able to help the Ivory Coast combat the fact that their fans are one of the groups impacted by current travel bans to the United States , but they're still feeling the support as forward Evann Guessand described the group as a small but loud one ahead of match day minus one training as the field at Subaru Park was getting watered.

"We're really happy here. We feel really comfortable here," Gussand said. "It's been a while we're here now. We played a friendly game. The weather changed, sometimes it's raining, sometimes it's hot like today. It's cool, it's cool to have, the fans with us. Unfortunately, some of them are not able to travel. But we can feel the support even from, from away, even if they're not here. Even if they are at the stadium, a small group, we can hear them. But yeah, unfortunately they are not a lot, but it's good to have some of them here.

As long as they avoid a loss, the Ivory Coast can keep their home away from home for a little bit longer and set themselves up for a clash with either France or Norway . If it's France, the Ivory Coast were able to kick off World Cup preparations by defeating them in a tune-up friendly, so that's something that they'll feel confident about, especially with budding star Yan  Diomande  on their side. The attack still needs to click in order to make use of Diomande's crosses into the box, and Ecuador showed the dangers of taking shots from distance versus Eloy Room , but the longer that teams stay in tournaments, the more that a "why not us" belief can form.

Curacao have already put themselves on the map, so even if their road in this tournament ends in Philadelphia, it's something to be proud of. They were previously the island near Aruba or the one off the coast of Venezuela, but de Bruin and others now put it differently.

"Now it's Curacao. So everything is near us," de Bruin said. "But yes, now it's Curacao. So that's the biggest accomplishment we have, when it comes to the World Cup, is now people won't ask where you guys are located anymore, people know where we're located, and that's beautiful."

How to watch Curacao vs. Ivory Coast

Date:  Thursday, June 25 |  Time:  4 p.m. ET Location:  Lincoln Financial Field -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania TV:  Fox (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) |  Live stream:   Fubo  (Try for free) Odds:  Curacao +1400; Draw +700; Ivroy Coast -599

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/ivory-coast-curacao-chase-historic-world-cup-knockout-berth-in-philadelphia/)._