2026 World Cup: Pepe equals Drogba’s all-time Ivory Coast record, lags behind only Roger Milla in Africa

Villarreal forward Nicolas Pepe masterminded a historic victory for Ivory Coast on Wednesday, guiding the Elephants into the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

The ex-Arsenal attacker proved to be the ultimate hero against Curaçao, cementing his legacy among the finest players to ever represent the West African nation.

Needing only a solitary point to secure progression, the Ivorian squad completely settled their nerves just seven minutes into the match when Yan Diomande pounced on a defensive error, unselfishly squaring the ball for Pepe to tap into an empty net.

The ex-Arsenal star controlled the tempo of the Group E encounter and sealed the landmark 2-0 victory in the 65th minute, curling a magnificent left-footed strike past Curaçao’s record-breaking goalkeeper Eloy Room.

The clinical performance saw the Elephants secure a second-place finish in the group with six points, marking the very first time in the country's sporting history that they have managed to win two separate matches at a single World Cup edition.

By finding the back of the net twice, Pepe joined an elite pantheon of Ivorian legends, matching Didier Drogba, Aruna Dindane, Wilfried Bony, and Gervinho as the joint-top scorers in Ivory Coast's World Cup history.

The 31-year-old winger also became the first Ivorian player to score a World Cup brace since Dindane’s famous double against Serbia in 2006.

Furthermore, at 31 years and 27 days old, Pepe etched his name into broader continental folklore by becoming the second-oldest African player to score a brace at the tournament, lagging behind only Cameroon's iconic Roger Milla, who famously scored two goals at the age of 38 during Italia '90.

Emerse Fae's side will now fly to Arlington, Texas, to face either France or Norway in a high-stakes round-of-32 clash on June 30.