Ivory Coast eliminated by Norway; Emes Fae says players lack experience.

In the 2026 World Cup Round of 32, Ivory Coast, after falling behind and equalizing through Diallo's goal, conceded another goal near the end, ultimately losing 1-2 to Norway. Emers Fae, in an interview, stated that his team lacked maturity and experience, but also learned a lot from the tournament.

In the 39th minute, Ødegaard passed the ball across the field, and Antonio Nusa received it before curling a shot into the net, giving Norway a 1-0 lead. In the 74th minute of the second half, Diallo received a pass from Nicola Pepe, broke through the defense, and fired a low shot into the net, leveling the score at 1-1 for Ivory Coast.

In the 86th minute, Patrick Berg dealt with a cross from Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahya Fofana, and Haaland seized the opportunity to slot the ball into the net, giving Norway a 2-1 lead again.

Ultimately, Ivory Coast lost 1-2 to Norway, failing to advance to the round of 16.

Ivory Coast coach Emers Fae said, "Losing in the last few minutes is really hard to accept, and it's difficult to find the right words to describe everyone's feelings because my players fought from the first minute to the last. We've learned a lot through this World Cup. Many players in this team are participating in the World Cup for the first time, and perhaps we still lack some maturity and experience."

"Perhaps we should have made sure to get the game into overtime first, but against a team like that, they will seize any opportunity they are given."

Emers Fae pointed out, "Against teams of this caliber, you have to play more pragmatically. When opportunities arise, you have to be precise, and at the same time, your defense must remain solid and you can't give them any chances. They have very good players, and if they make even one mistake or lose focus even slightly, they will immediately maximize their advantage."

“We put in a tremendous effort to equalize and had the psychological advantage at the time. But then we were too eager to score a second goal, which created gaps in our defense, and the opponent eventually capitalized on those opportunities.”

In addition, Norway's head coach Solbåken said, "I think it was a very close game. Both teams are very strong, and the game could have gone in any direction. But we performed better in the final stages and regained control of the game after the score became 1-1."

"They had a very dangerous free kick at the end and created some chances that could have been scored. But overall, I think we were probably slightly better. I also want to commend Ivory Coast; they played a very good game."

Image source: Internet