Ivory Coast were beaten 2-1 by Germany in their second World Cup match on Saturday, but head coach Emerse Fae said his team can emulate Morocco’s run at the 2022 tournament and reach at least the semifinals. “We hope our journey can be the same as Morocco’s in 2022,” he told journalists.
The Ivorians won their opener 1-0 against Ecuador and entered the Toronto match well placed to reach the knockout phase despite the narrow loss. Franck Kessié put Ivory Coast ahead in the 30th minute, but substitute Deniz Undav equalised in the 68th minute from a Nadiem Amiri cross and then struck a 94th-minute winner to hand the four-time champions maximum points.
The defeat means Ivory Coast must wait until their final group game against Curacao to guarantee progression to the knockouts, though Fae said he still backs a fairytale run. He highlighted the squad’s youth and learning curve, noting it is the first World Cup for all 26 players he called up and saying the team will “use this match as a lesson to fine tune the mistakes, the shortcomings that we still have.”
Fae added that “we’ve still got everything to play for” and that the team will rest before turning attention to Curacao by reviewing their game against Ecuador. Curacao held Ecuador to a 1-1 draw on Saturday to secure their first-ever World Cup point. Ivory Coast conclude Group E in Philadelphia on Thursday and will secure second place if they avoid defeat.
A loss to Curacao could drop Ivory Coast into third place but keep them in contention for progression, unless Ecuador defeat Germany — in which case the 2024 African champions would finish bottom of the group. Despite frustration at the late setback, Fae expressed pride in his players and called their display “a textbook performance,” saying it can be used to prepare for the rest of the competition.
