The fairytale ran out of road. Curaçao — the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup — needed a win to keep their improbable knockout dream alive, but Ivory Coast were simply too strong, easing to a 2–0 win in Philadelphia to take second place in Group E. The African side, themselves at their first ever World Cup, barely had to break sweat; for Curaçao, a single point against Ecuador will stand as the high-water mark of a tournament that already rewrote their history. Ivory Coast's reward is a Round-of-32 date with Norway in Dallas.

Weird & wonderful

Two debutants met with a knockout place on the line, and the one representing a Caribbean island of 150,000 people — Eloy Room and all — could hold their heads high: nobody expected Curaçao to take the final group game this far.