Two African teams had mixed fortunes on Sunday at the start of their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaigns.
Manchester United winger Amad Diallo struck in the 90th minute to seal a dramatic 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia, sending Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) to the top of Group E alongside Germany, who thrashed Curaçao 7-1. In Monterrey, it was a different story for Tunisia, outclassed 5-1 by a clinical Sweden in their Group F opener.
The match appeared destined for a goalless draw after both teams struck the woodwork twice.
Ecuador came closest in the first half through John Yeboah and Alan Minda, whose efforts both rattled the crossbar. Cote d’Ivoire also created chances, with 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande producing an impressive display on his World Cup debut.
The Ivorians continued to push forward after the break. Ecuador captain Enner Valencia hit the post from a tight angle before Elye Wahi struck the crossbar at the other end. Just when the game seemed set to end level, substitute Amad produced the decisive moment, calmly placing his effort into the bottom corner to spark wild celebrations among the Ivorian camp.
“We needed that. We came here to make history,” Amad said after the match, as the victory puts Ivory Coast in a strong early position in Group E and continues the momentum generated by the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations champions.
For Tunisia, it was the opposite.
Sweden took the lead after seven minutes through Yasin Ayari, whose father was born in Tunisia.
Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres, one of the tournament’s most feared attacking partnerships, caused constant problems for Tunisia’s defence. Isak scored Sweden’s second goal before Gyokeres added a third shortly after halftime.
Tunisia briefly threatened a comeback when Omar Rekik headed home from Hannibal Mejbri’s delivery in the 43rd minute to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
However, Sweden dominated the second half. Mattias Svanberg added a fourth before Ayari added his second of the match in stoppage time to complete the scoring.
“It’s a difficult loss. It’s painful,” Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi admitted after the match. “With world-class players that we have in the two Swedish forwards, it’s something that you don’t recover from. We made way too many mistakes.”
The result leaves Tunisia bottom of Group F, while Sweden move top with three points, ahead of Japan and the Netherlands, who drew 2-2 in the group’s other fixture.
