Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae has attributed his side’s narrow World Cup elimination to a lack of experience after a late goal handed Norway a 2-1 victory in Tuesday’s Round of 32 clash.
Norway took the lead in the first half through Antonio Nusa before Amad Diallo restored parity with a fine finish in the 74th minute.
Just as the match appeared to be heading for extra time, Erling Haaland struck four minutes from full-time to send the Scandinavian side into the next round.
Although Ivory Coast controlled long periods of the contest and created several scoring opportunities, their inability to convert chances and a lapse in concentration at the back proved costly.
Speaking after the defeat, Fae praised the commitment of his players despite the painful ending.
“It’s difficult to lose, you know, in the last few minutes, it’s difficult to find the right words, because my players fought from the very first minutes until the very last minute.”
The coach said the tournament had provided valuable lessons for his youthful squad, many of whom were playing at the World Cup for the first time.
“We’ve learned a lot, thanks to this competition. It was the very first World Cup for many players, and maybe we were lacking in maturity.”
Reflecting on the closing stages of the match, Fae admitted his team could have managed the game better after drawing level.
“Maybe we should have tried to make it until the extra time, but when you’re playing this type of team, you know, as soon as they get the slightest opportunity to score, well, they take it, and that’s what happened this afternoon.”
He stressed that facing elite opponents requires discipline in both attack and defence.
“I believe that when you’re playing this type of team, you need to be pragmatic.
“When you have an opportunity, you need to be extremely precise, and you need to also remain very solid in your defence, and not give the slightest opportunity to this type of team, because they’ve got very good quality players, and they make the most of the slightest mistake or moment where you don’t pay attention.”
Fae added that his players were encouraged by their equaliser and pushed for a winning goal, but their attacking intent left spaces that Norway exploited.
“We really made a very big effort to score and we had the psychological advantage but we then wanted to score a second goal quickly, and they re-opened spaces and made the most of it.”
Despite the disappointment, Ivory Coast’s campaign marked a historic achievement.
The 2026 tournament was their first World Cup appearance since 2014 and the first time the Elephants progressed beyond the group stage.
They advanced after finishing second behind Germany, with victories over Ecuador and Curaçao before their journey ended against Norway.
