Philadelphia. Ivory Coast rejoiced as players dropped to their knees on the pitch for a team photo -- peerless in national team history -- and they all pointed one finger toward the sky.

One, for the West African team's first-ever trip to the World Cup knockout round.

Why stop there?

“We aren’t setting any limits for ourselves," star forward Nicolas Pépé said. "I think we have huge potential.”

Les Éléphants have crashed the party and made it out of their group for the first time in four World Cup appearances. Pépé scored in each half and Ivory Coast advanced with a 2-0 victory over Curaçao on Thursday.

Players stripped off their jerseys and danced and partied in the locker room for the well-earned and overdue celebration.

Ivory Coast beat Ecuador 1-0 in its tournament opener -- at the same Philadelphia stadium as Thursday’s game -- and lost to Germany in its Group E second game.

Ivory Coast will play on June 30 against either France or Norway -- whichever is the runner-up in Group I.

“If we aim to go all the way, it doesn’t matter who we play,” Pépé said.

Curaçao needed to win and instead failed to become the smallest nation to qualify for the knockout stages.

Pépé, who plays for the Spanish club Villarreal, wiped out all the suspense in this one early, scoring in just the seventh minute, and the lead held the rest of the game in front of an enthusiastic crowd that made Les Éléphants feel at home. Ivory Coast held its training base in nearby Delaware and practiced at the Philadelphia suburban home of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.

Throw in a friendly (against the Union’s second team), and the thrilling win in the 90th minute against Ecuador, and Les Éléphants found their adoptive fans among the crowd of 68,324 -- about 40% of the population of Curaçao -- at the home of the NFL's Eagles.

The fans in Ivory Coast orange went wild when Pépé scored again on a left-footed shot from the far corner in the 64th minute to seal the win. He was subbed out three minutes later to earn just a bit more rest for the June 30 game that will serve as the biggest one for the national team in World Cup history.

Here's one more rivalry reason why new Philly fans might keep an eye on Les Éléphants -- the next game is in Dallas.

“It’s a little difficult to have to leave Philadelphia,” Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Faé said.

Ivory Coast needed only a draw to advance, yet played with a competitive fire and never let Curaçao seem close to getting even in this one.

Senegal and the Ivory Coast were added in December by President Donald Trump’s administration to the list of countries with partial restrictions on entry to the United States, upending World Cup travel plans.

Les Éléphants still had a loud and proud turnout in Philadelphia and boasted the home-field edge on Thursday. Ivory Coast fans hugged, danced and chanted in the stands as the final seconds ticked down and the celebration kicked into another festive gear.

“We know not everyone could make the trip, and we can see there were quite a few Ivorian fans in the stadium,” Pépé said. “So, I think this victory is for them too, and they richly deserve it.”

Ivory Coast pounced when 19-year-old Yan Diomande, who came to America four years earlier as a soccer prospect who couldn’t speak any English, snared the ball when Curaçao failed to clear it and fed it to Pépé for the easy goal past Eloy Room.

The 37-year-old Room had made 15 saves against a relentless Ecuador attack and helped The Blue Wave earn their first-ever point with a 0-0 draw on Saturday.

Faé, in his casual white polo shirt and black baseball cap, raised his arms in triumph once Pépé scored and punched his fists in the air on the sideline.

“My message would be, enjoy,” Faé said. “Now the group has to bask in this victory and this qualification. We're very proud, very happy.”

There was still reason to celebrate for Curaçao.

“This was a great experience for us," Room said. "It was a long journey, started a long time ago. Now we’re here. Wanted to show the world what we can do. We brought a lot of joy to the tournament. Spirit. Fight. And that we can be proud of. And I think today we also showed we can play on the highest stage.”

Curaçao is an autonomous territory of about 156,000 people in the Caribbean within the Dutch Kingdom. The team relies almost entirely on players born and raised in the Netherlands.

“They’ve been playing with full enthusiasm with a lot of guts,” said 78-year-old Curaçao coach Dick Advocaat, in potentially his last international game. “This is something we have to benefit from.”

Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi, who is under investigation for alleged betting-related offenses while playing for Nice, came on as a substitute in the second half after he sat out against Germany.

The historic clincher belonged to Pépé, and he received tons of applause after he was named the player of the game.

“This award is a team achievement, too," he said. “I score the goals, but they come from perfect setups by my teammates, so I consider this a collective award.”

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