Emerse Fae had made it clear before the match – in their opening game, Côte d’Ivoire had no intention of taking their foot off the pedal or treating their clash with Germany as a free hit. Les Elephants were true to their word against the four-time champions. For nearly 70 minutes, they looked one of the tournament favourites straight in the eye and were within touching distance of a result that would have gone down in history.
Then fate, as it so often does in football, dealt them a cruel blow.
Having opened the scoring before half-time and fended off German attacks for over an hour, Franck Kessie et al. looked set fair for a momentous result built around organisation, discipline and threats on the counter-attack.
In the 68th minute, however, the match turned on its head as Deniz Undav took advantage of a moment of uncertainty in the Africans’ defence to level the score. It was a heavy blow, but one that Fae’s men seemed capable of bouncing back from. Even after being pegged back, they continued to create chances to retake the lead, thanks in no small part to their substitutes.
But just as it looked like the match was petering out into a draw, Germany’s number 26 struck again four minutes into stoppage time, .
“We’re a little disappointed because we know we could have won the match,” said Amad Diallo to FIFA after the final whistle. “We had some chances in the second half and we could have scored, but that’s football. We’ll learn from our mistakes, try to put them right in training, and then look to win the next match.”
His captain, Kessie, was clearly just as frustrated. “Losing a point in the last minute is annoying, especially as we had the chance to secure all three points earlier on. We didn’t manage to score, but that’s football for you."
After airing their regrets and frustration, the duo focused on rallying the troops, because despite this defeat, Les Elephants still hold their destiny in their own hands. A win against Curaçao – – on Matchday 3 would seal a .
“There’s still a long way to go in this competition; we still have a chance to turn things round,” said Kessie. “It’s better that this happens now rather than in the round of 32 or the round of 16. We’re going to head back to our base camp and get ready for our final group match.”
The Manchester United forward was no less determined: “We have a lot of respect for Curaçao, but we’re going [to Philadelphia Stadium] knowing that we still have a chance to get through the group stage and make history for Côte d’Ivoire. We’re going into it with a great attitude and with determination to win the match.”
Côte d’Ivoire may have been beaten, but they were also unbowed; they left Toronto Stadium with regrets, but also with the knowledge that they nearly downed one of the giants of world football. All that remains now is to turn that frustration into positive energy. For while this defeat was a bitter blow, Côte d’Ivoire’s World Cup campaign is far from over.
Sources: FIFA Official
