Yan Diomande helps Ivory Coast secure 1st World Cup knockout appearance

· Yahoo Sports

Ivory Coast and winger Yan Diomande, a former DME Academy soccer player, are moving on to the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 for the first time in the country’s history.

The Ivorians beat Curaçao 2-0 on June 25 to clinch their spot in the knockouts as Group E’s runner-up behind Germany. Ivory Coast previously beat Ecuador 1-0 in its first match of the tournament before falling 2-1 to the Germans on June 20.

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Still, Ivory Coast’s six points were easily enough to propel it to the elimination rounds, and Diomande was a permanent fixture for the Elephants.

Nicolas Pepe scored a brace against Curaçao, but Diomande was the one to deliver the assist for Pepe’s 7th-minute opener. It was a national record for Diomande, who became the youngest player in Ivory Coast's history to be directly involved in a World Cup goal at 19 years and 223 days old.

Diomande, who played high school soccer for Daytona Beach's DME Academy from 2022-24, also became the only player since 2000 to complete 10 dribbles and create 10 chances in his first three FIFA World Cup games.

To top off an impressive World Cup debut, Diomande recorded the most touches, chances created, duels won, passes in the attacking third and progressive carries in Ivory Coast’s win against Ecuador, a team that only allowed five goals in 18 CONMEBOL qualifying matches.

Diomande has been a rising star on the global stage after a breakout season with Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, receiving interest from massive European clubs Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain. That figures to keep rising as Diomande performs in the world’s biggest sporting event.

He and Ivory Coast will play next on June 30 against the runner-up of Group I, which will be the loser of the Norway-France game, or Norway should it end in a draw, on June 26 at 3 p.m.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Yan Diomande, Ivory Coast advance to 1st FIFA World Cup knockout stage

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