Before kickoff, Émerse Faé set the stage with disarming clarity: “We’re not here to watch the Germans play, we’re here to beat them.” The Ivorian coach had the merit of matching actions to words. His team put in an ambitious, combative performance against a German side that had just humiliated Curaçao 7-0. For long minutes, the Elephants even seemed capable of pulling off their gamble.
Diomandé lights the fuse, Kessié finishes
Right from the start, the tone was set by Yan Diomandé, a true phenomenon on his wing. The Ivorian midfielder launched repeated attacks, sowing chaos in the German defense. At the other end, Yahia Fofana watched over his goal, making a key save against Havertz (9th minute) before barely avoiding a mistake in a duel with Pavlovic, whose goal was ultimately disallowed for a foul. In the 22nd minute, Côte d’Ivoire opened the scoring in the finest fashion. Diomandé broke through on the right and found Amad Diallo, whose effort fell to Franck Kessié. The former Milan player finished with a side-footed shot: 0-1. The Elephants led, and deserved it.
The German substitutes change everything
The second half began with Ivorian territorial domination, but Julian Nagelsmann was about to play a trump card that would hurt. On the hour mark, the German coach made three substitutions at once. Among them, Nadiem Amiri and Deniz Undav. The first surged down the right flank and crossed for the second, who scored his eighth goal in just 11 caps (68th minute): 1-1. What followed would be torment for the Ivorian fans. Fofana made two decisive saves against Nathaniel Brown (89th minute) and Amiri (90+1). Simon Adingra even had the chance to save his team but chose to control rather than shoot directly after a burst forward from Pépé. That decision proved costly. Just seconds later, Undav grabbed a brace in added time and secured all three points for Germany (90+4).
Inexperience proved costly
Côte d’Ivoire leaves this match with heads held high but heavy hearts. The team showed an attractive face, powered by Diomandé’s legs and the talent of Amad Diallo, and no doubt deserved better. But the lack of experience in crucial moments, those times when you need to finish the game or hold on to the lead, proved costly.
In the standings, Germany strengthens its lead with 6 points. Côte d’Ivoire, meanwhile, remains at 3 points and must react swiftly to stay in the tournament.
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À propos de l'auteur
El Hadji Malick SARR
Rédacteur sportif
Passionné de sport depuis toujours, partage avec vous les dernières actualités et analyses du monde sportif.