World Cup highlights: Diallo strikes gold for Ivory Coast as Sweden revel in striking duo

[p][a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5lqu5wJG8eCEvc0jnH52n8?si=OUQQM6KsTSy9KuPXAjF7xw"][b]Listen to an audio version of this article on Spotify here.[/b][/a][/p][p][i][b]Flashscore[/b][/i] brings you the best of the tournament in our daily World Cup highlights throughout the competition, so you don’t miss anything important.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/world-cup-highlights-brazil-stumble-scotland-end-win-drought-australia-surprise/8zTwZ4pR/"]Catch up with all the action on day three here.[/a][/p][h2]The headlines[/h2][p]Groups E and F took centre stage on Sunday, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/germany/ptQide1O/"]Germany[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/curacao-bLLGpOkQ/germany-ptQide1O/?mid=dtiRRcc6"]putting seven[/a] past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/curacao/bLLGpOkQ/"]Curacao[/a] on their World Cup debut to start the proceedings.[/p][p]The smallest nation to ever qualify for the tournament did steal the early headlines, shocking the world after levelling through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/comenencia-livano/QVwOF3CH/"]Livano Comenencia[/a]. Despite the heavy loss, they did as well as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/brazil/I9l9aqLq/"]Brazil[/a] during that infamous semi-final loss in 2014. If you squint hard enough, there's a positive there somewhere.[/p][p]Away from the jokes, Curacao tried to go toe-to-toe against Germany, and their manager Dick Advocaat told his players not to be ashamed - they will have plenty more fans than before the game after their performance.[/p][p]In Philadelphia, a sea of yellow greeted the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ecuador/8tbm8Tri/"]Ecuador[/a] team as they stepped out onto the pitch, but they would be stunned into silence late on as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ivory-coast/G2FRjBgn/"]Ivory Coast[/a] pinched [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/ecuador-8tbm8Tri/ivory-coast-G2FRjBgn/?mid=h8pzQySI"]a 1-0 win[/a] after a back-and-forth encounter, settled by a 90th-minute strike from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/traore-amad/I5Rhq1WL/"]Amad Diallo[/a].[/p][embed guid="91d27eab-09b2-419c-aef3-f66eb39eef60" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2066385859461451951" social-type="twitter" /][p]In Group F, the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]Netherlands[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULXPdOUj/"]Japan[/a] slugged it out in Dallas, giving us the best half of football we have seen as they shared the spoils in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/japan-ULXPdOUj/netherlands-WYintcWb/?mid=4SV9xFBO"]a 2-2 draw[/a].[/p][p]The Blue Samurai fought back twice to earn a point, their second coming just one minute from the end of regulation time.[/p][p]And in Monterrey to finish the day, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a]'s dynamic duo - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gyokeres-viktor/zaBZ1xIk/"]Gyokeres[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/isak-alexander/p41IV42c/"]Isak[/a] - led their side to a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/sweden-OQyqbHWB/tunisia-QqZVYk95/?mid=UaJKzaHN"]5-1[/a] thrashing of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tunisia/QqZVYk95/"]Tunisia[/a] to see them move to the top of the group.[/p][p]Both scored whilst assisting each other as Graham Potter's gamble to play both of them - similar in style - together for just the second time paid off.[/p][p]Tunisia struggled after going 3-1 down midway through the second half, before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/svanberg-mattias/z522mgfh/"]Mattias Svanberg[/a] came off the bench to score with his first-ever World Cup touch.[/p][h2]Goal of the day[/h2][p]It was not only a sensational strike from Sweden's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ayari-yasin/vTrnQI0N/"]Yasin Ayari[/a] to open the scoring against Tunisia, but it was an emotional one too.[/p][p]The midfielder rifled it home from outside the box, and normally, that sort of hit would warrant a large celebration, but Ayari was mute.[/p][embed guid="be483321-6c22-4b84-a917-b6dff1299b12" url="https://x.com/svenskfotboll/status/2066343029049311682" social-type="twitter" /][p]The reason? His lineage is half Tunisian, and he was conflicted, raising his hands in apology to respect his ancestry.[/p][p]His Swedish teammates still could not hide their glee, and eventually Ayari was able to muster a late fist pump. He also rounded off the scoring from distance in stoppage time to make it 5-1; this time, it warranted a knee slide.[/p][p]The fluid nature of nationality has been on full show throughout this tournament, a strong reminder of how interconnected the world is.[/p][h2]Player of the day[/h2][p]A consistent performer at club level, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/schlotterbeck-nico/hKLN8mA7/"]Nico Schlotterbeck[/a] brought his great form to the German national side, helping his side to a rout against Curacao.[/p][p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/dortmund/nP1i5US1/"]Borussia Dortmund[/a] defender scored a lovely header from a corner to make it 2-1.[/p][p]His defensive play was also up to scratch. He won all of his aerial duels, whilst having a game-high 104 touches and an 86% pass accuracy. All of this saw him pick up a 9.3 rating using [i][b]Flashscore[/b][/i]'s new-and-improved rating system.[/p][image alt="Nico Schlotterbeck celebrates for Germany" id="c565fdcc-00fb-4423-94af-ab7280149899" credit-line="Phil Noble / Reuters" guid="ea9d8669-9ed9-489b-97e0-006d6c11cdd0" original-width="1909" original-height="1307" /][h2]Best from social media[/h2][p]Travelling fans experiencing culture overseas is always a wonderful by-product of the World Cup, and high off of their 1-0 win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/haiti/nk4v10Z1/"]Haiti[/a] on Saturday, Scotland's travelling 'Tartan Army' were in full force at Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox took on the Texas Rangers in an MLB clash.[/p][embed guid="48ae6156-7c47-44ce-a31b-1b23376389e5" url="https://x.com/barstoolsports/status/2066330503981011245" social-type="twitter" /][p]They went through their repertoire of chants, rather alien to America's pastime, whilst a young Scottish fan took home a souvenir to remember.[/p][embed guid="cc4e11a5-bf28-49d8-8f2c-dc8a0a8a7148" url="https://x.com/MenInBlazers/status/2066308044229628221?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]