Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae believes Germany’s greater experience was the decisive factor after his side suffered a painful 2-1 defeat despite leading and threatening one of the favourites at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Elephants produced one of their most impressive displays of the tournament and looked capable of taking at least a point after opening the scoring against Germany.
However, the Europeans fought back and eventually snatched victory late in the contest, leaving Fae frustrated by the outcome but encouraged by the performance of his young squad.
Speaking after the match, the former midfielder argued that the difference between the teams was not quality or effort, but the ability to manage key moments under pressure.
“I think the victory of Germany was based on experience,” Fae told reporters.
“I think they had a little more experience than we did on how to manage strong and weak times.”
The Ivory Coast coach felt his players had opportunities to put the match beyond Germany’s reach, particularly during their strongest spell in the second half.
According to Fae, converting those chances could have changed the entire complexion of the game and left Germany struggling to recover.
“It’s true that in our strong second half, we could have scored the second goal,” he said.
“Just after the German equalisation, we had a chance. Unfortunately, we didn’t score.”
Instead, Germany capitalised when their own decisive moment arrived.
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Fae singled out the composure shown by the eventual match-winner as the clearest example of the difference between a seasoned side and a team still learning at the highest level.
“When they had this opportunity, they scored,” he explained.
“What marked me the most was the calm with which Undav scored that second goal.”
Despite the disappointment, Fae rejected suggestions that fatigue played a major role in the defeat.
Several observers questioned whether Ivory Coast’s intensity had dropped in the closing stages, but the coach insisted the result came down to decision-making and game management rather than physical exhaustion.
“I don’t think it’s a problem of fatigue,” he said.
“It’s more of an experience difference which meant that in the opportunities we had at the end of the match, where we had to go all out, we were hesitant.”
The defeat leaves Ivory Coast with work still to do in their final group-stage fixture, but Fae remains optimistic about the future of a squad he believes is growing rapidly.
The coach highlighted the fact that every player in his 26-man squad is experiencing the World Cup for the first time, making nights like this an important part of the team’s development.
“We have a young group that is growing well and growing fast,” Fae said.
“It is the first World Cup for the 26 players that I selected, but we will use matches like tonight to continue to grow and correct the small mistakes that we still make today.”
Despite the narrow defeat against Germany, The Elephants remain in control of their qualification hopes and know victory in their final group game against Curaçao would secure passage to the knockout stage.
The challenge now is ensuring his players learn from a night when they competed toe-to-toe with one of world football’s traditional powers but discovered how costly a lack of experience can be on the World Cup stage.
