Saturday’s World Cup games featured a clash between Group E’s Ivory Coast and Germany, with both teams looking to take control of their group with a win.
Unfortunately, the Ivory Coast suffered a late-match mistake from one of their players that proved costly. They had a strong opportunity to break a 1-1 tie in the second half, and moments later, Germany capitalized to score the winning goal in stoppage time.
The late-match mishap appeared like it could have really given the Ivory Coast a massive win and the Group E lead. However, Ivory Coast’s head coach, Emerse Fae, didn’t call attention to that after the match as much as he criticized a “lack of fair play” from the German side.
“We would have liked more fair play from Germany. We would have liked them to give us the ball back when Singo got injured. They are a great football nation, and we take example from them, so I was disappointed by their lack of fair play,” Fae told reporters.
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Fae was particularly upset with Germany’s left back, Nathaniel Brown, who refused to return the ball to the Ivory Coast after their injured player, Wilfried Singo, sent it out of bounds. Instead of giving Ivory Coast the ball, Brown took over at the sidelines to throw in for an attack.
“I told him [Brown] to stay humble. He had a great game, and he doesn’t need to talk badly to us because he is losing or at 1-1 because he wants to win,” Fae said after the match, per ESPN.
It was clearly a tale of two different matches for the Ivory Coast, who felt the excitement of winning their first Group E match against Ecuador 1-0, and then the pain of losing what was a very winnable match against a strong contender.
After Franck Kessie scored in the first half to grab the lead, Germany tied it in the second half with a goal from Deniz Undav. He would also score the winning goal, to take the matchup 2-1, and it came in stoppage time, crushing Ivory Coast’s hope for a tie.
During some of his post-match comments, Fae may have been venting his frustrations at Germany’s play and one specific player, but he also gave credit where it was due.
“Both teams deserved to win and had the chances to win the game. Well done to Germany. They won the game because of their experience,” he said.
A win would have been a historic Round of 32 qualification for the Ivory Coast, something they’ve never achieved in a World Cup appearance.
Fae’s team has a chance to qualify with a win when they play Curacao in a Group E matchup on Thursday. A loss would be their worst result. A draw would also work, unless Ecuador blows out Germany by more than two goals in the two teams’ final group match.
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