The result was incredibly harsh on Ecuador, who had dominated the opening half-hour and looked every bit the side that had gone 19 games without defeat. John Yeboah was at the heart of their best work, cutting inside and curling a magnificent effort against the crossbar after Emmanuel Agbadou had uncharacteristically lost his footing.
The woodwork would deny La Tri once again shortly after. Pedro Vite played a sublime through-ball to Alan Minda, but the forward could only watch as his strike from eight yards out rattled the frame of the goal. It was a period of dominance that Ecuador would ultimately come to regret as they failed to test Yahia Fofana frequently enough in the second period.
Meanwhile, the 2023 AFCON winners took time to grow into the contest, with Yan Diomande proving to be a constant threat without finding the final ball. The introduction of Amad and Ange-Yoan Bonny transformed the dynamic of the African side’s attack, providing the clinical edge that had been missing for the first hour of play.
Before Amad’s heroics, Elye Wahi had already come close to breaking the deadlock, mirroring Ecuador’s luck by striking the crossbar following an inviting cross from Nicolas Pepe. However, the Elephants refused to settle for a point, pushing until the very end to secure their first World Cup finals victory since the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
