Nicolas Pépé Targets More World Cup Goals After Firing Côte d’Ivoire Into Last 32

Nicolas Pépé has vowed to keep finding the net after his match-winning display sent Côte d’Ivoire into the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time.

NEWSNGR reports that the Villarreal winger scored twice in Thursday night’s 2-0 win over Curaçao at Philadelphia Stadium, sealing a landmark qualification for the Elephants.

Pépé also etched his name into the history books. He became only the second Ivorian to score twice in a World Cup match, matching the feat achieved by Aruna Dindane in Côte d’Ivoire’s 3-2 win over Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 tournament.

His opener after just seven minutes was another milestone, standing as Côte d’Ivoire’s fastest goal ever at a FIFA World Cup.

The former Arsenal forward credited his team-mates for both goals and expressed hope of extending his scoring run as the tournament progresses.

“I know I’ve got what it takes. This is the reward for all my hard work, and I hope it will continue in the upcoming matches too,” Pépé told FIFA.com.

“My brace was down to the team as well.

“For the first goal, I just had to tap the ball in after some brilliant work from Yan [Diomande]; for the second, Ibra [Sangare] played a superb ball, and all I had to do was stay focused and score. I’d like to dedicate this trophy to the lads.”