WM 2026: Ivory Coast coach criticizes Germany's lack of fair play

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé expressed his frustration after his team's defeat to Germany, not only because of the defeat itself, but also because of what he considered a lack of fair play on the part of some players in the German team. "I'm disappointed," said Faé after the final whistle of the match in Toronto. Their discontent is understandable as Ivory Coast put in a solid performance, leading the game until the 68th minute when they were 1-0 ahead and almost doubled their lead early in the second half. However, the introduction of Deniz Undav changed the game, with him scoring two goals, including the winner at 2-1 in the final minutes.

Faé specifically criticized Eintracht Frankfurt player Nathaniel Brown, saying: "I told him to stay humble. He played very well and he doesn't need to talk bad about us just because he wants to win." Controversy arose at a point in the match, when Brown quickly tried to restart the game with a throw-in, even though Ivory Coast player Wilfried Singo was lying on the ground, apparently injured. The Paraguayan referee, Juan Gabriel Benitez, disallowed Brown's shot, leading to a disagreement between Brown, members of the DFB technical committee and Faé.


"From such a great nation, which we should look up to, I expect more fair play", commented Faé. However, his review did not consider that Singo had been injured in a play with Kai Havertz, which led to the game being stopped. Instead of receiving treatment off the field, Singo got up and returned to the field, where he ended up falling again, causing the game to stop.

Despite his criticism, Faé congratulated the German team on their victory and has already started thinking about the next game: "We have our destiny in our own hands." Ivory Coast is preparing to face Ecuador next Thursday, and a victory could guarantee qualification for the next phase. In their three previous World Cup appearances (2006, 2010, 2014), Ivory Coast were eliminated in the group stage.

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