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Striker will miss match against Germany in TorontoWas arrested over alleged ‘organised fraud’ in Ligue 1The Côte d’Ivoire striker Elye Wahi, who is being investigated for alleged fixing, has not been authorised to travel to Canada for his team’s World Cup match against Germany, the Côte d’Ivoire football federation (FIF) said on Thursday.FIF said Wahi would not be able to travel with the squad for Saturday’s game in Toronto because “the necessary administrative authorisations for his entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this stage”.Wahi started for Côte d’Ivoire when they beat Ecuador 1-0 in their opening game in Philadelphia on Monday. He will remain in the United States pending the team’s return, FIF said.The French football league said on Wednesday that an “unusual amount of bets” were placed internationally on Wahi receiving a yellow card during a Ligue 1 game with Nice in May. It was alerted by partners monitoring betting markets about suspicious activity at international level concerning Nice’s home game against Metz on 17 May, which ended 0-0, and in which Wahi was shown a yellow card. The French league said it passed this information to relevant police and gambling authorities, as well as to the French football federation.The Marseille prosecutor’s office said “a 23-year-old professional football player, competing in France’s Ligue 1 championship, was arrested on 29 May 2026 as part of their investigation”.The office added “the investigation concerns alleged offecses of organised fraud, organised sports corruption, receiving stolen goods, and money laundering”. The player was questioned while in police custody and released without being detained. The office added the investigation was ongoing.Wahi’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.FIF said it had not been officially notified “of any judicial or administrative proceedings” concerning Wahi. “During this particularly delicate period, the FIF offers its full support to the player and reaffirms its confidence in him. Elye Wahi remains an important member of the Côte d’Ivoire national team.”Wahi joined Nice on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt in January and scored nine goals in 19 games, helping Nice reach the French Cup final.

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The substitute Amad Diallo struck in the 90th minute to give Côte d’Ivoire a 1-0 win over Ecuador in their ⁠Group E opener.Diallo’s first-time strike of Wilfried Singo’s cross gave the Ivorians their first World Cup victory over South American opposition and ⁠halted Ecuador’s unbeaten run ​at 19 matches.It also put a bow on a 19-year-old Yan Diomande’s dazzling performance as the Elephants pulled level on points with a Germany side ⁠that thumped Curacao 7-1 in their opener earlier in the day.The promising Ivorians – who have the youngest squad at this World Cup – looked to be running out of ideas ⁠before Singo found space surging up the right from his defensive post. His cross reached Diallo in stride, ​with the 23-year-old Manchester United player deftly guiding ‌it into the bottom left ‌corner to give the West Africans a dream start ‌to their first World Cup finals appearance since 2014.Ecuador’s best first-half chances came from Côte d’Ivoire’s casual defending. John Yeboah and Alan Minda struck the bar in the 23rd and 30th minutes, respectively.But it was Côte d’Ivoire who looked better in possession, with Diomande terrorizing Ecuador’s left side. In the 35th minute, he picked up the ball at midfield, beat Piero Hincapié down the line ‌and dragged a cross into the path of Nicolas Pépé’s late run to the penalty spot. Pépé tried to sneak a second touch to get on ​his favoured left foot, seeing his effort ultimately blocked.In first-half stoppage time, Singo nearly turned a spectacular bicycle kick on frame from Guéla Doué’s cross.Côte d’Ivoire started well after the break, but in the 68th minute, a well-struck effort from Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata forced Yahia Fofana into a comfortable save.Before that, it ⁠was more of Diomande. In the 52nd minute, his cross met Elye Wahi’s ​angling run, but Wahi’s first-time ​strike skimmed the crossbar. And moments after ​switching to the left flank following two Côte d’Ivoire changes in the 56th ​minute, he dribbled between Yeboah, ‌Alan Franco and ​Moises Caicedo on his ​way into the box before firing high.In a match played within driving distance of more than 600,000 Ecuadorian Americans estimated to live in New York and New Jersey, La Tricolor fans dominated the atmosphere but left disappointed.