2026 World Cup: Diallo, Fae Keep Faith After Germany Win Over Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire winger, Amad Diallo, has insisted the Elephants remain masters of their own fate at the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite a painful 2-1 defeat to Germany in Group E.

The West Africans went toe-to-toe with one of the tournament favourites and looked on course for a positive result after taking the lead through Franck Kessie. However, Germany turned the game around after the break, with substitute Deniz Undav striking twice, including a late winner, to book Die Mannschaft’s place in the Round of 32.

The result leaves Côte d’Ivoire needing a positive outcome against Curaçao in their final group match on Thursday to boost their chances of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Reflecting on the defeat, Manchester United forward Diallo admitted Germany’s quality always made the clash a stern test but remained confident his side could still progress.

“It was a really difficult game for us, and we knew it was going to be hard because we were playing against a top-quality team and they have players that make a difference at any point, but we are going to learn from this and we can still go through to the next round,” Diallo told reporters.

The defeat was equally difficult for head coach Emerse Fae, whose side created several openings after Kessie’s early goal but failed to extend their advantage before Germany mounted their comeback.

Fae lamented his team’s inability to make their chances count, pointing to a lack of composure in decisive moments.

“It’s more frustration that we’re feeling after this defeat, because we were able to open the score against this strong German side,” Fae said.

“A difference in experience that meant in the chances that we did have at the end of the game, where we needed to find the back of the net, we were hesitant.”

Despite the setback, the former midfielder refused to dwell on the loss, instead focusing on the lessons his players can take into their final group-stage encounter.

“We’re going to use this game as a lesson to try and fine-tune the mistakes, our shortcomings that we still have, and that will help us go as far as possible,” he said.

“Our destiny is still in our hands, or our feet.”

Naija News recalls that Germany’s qualification marks their first progression beyond the World Cup group stage since lifting the trophy in Brazil in 2014.