Emerse Faé said on Friday that Costa de Marfil will not go into its World Cup 2026 match against Alemania to contain the game. The coach said his team will try to beat Alemania in Toronto, a stance that turns a high-stakes group meeting into an open challenge rather than a cautious wait.
That is why readers are looking at Germany Vs Ivory Coast now: both sides won their opening matches, and the winner on Friday could practically secure qualification while also taking control of first place in the group. Faé was blunt about the ambition. “No venimos a ver jugar a Alemania, venimos a derrotarla,” he said, adding that Costa de Marfil does not plan to settle for competing evenly with a historic power.
The match is set for Toronto at the Mundial 2026, and Faé said a victory would send Costa de Marfil back to its camp base in Filadelfia with six points and the conviction that it would finish as group leader. He also said the team will not change its way of playing because Alemania is the opponent, insisting that the same structure that helped win the Copa Africana de Naciones will guide the approach again. For Faé, being favored or not favored changes nothing; the only thing that matters is winning and getting the qualification.
There is also a question around Elye Wahi, who recently joined the training camp after reports tied him to a presumed investigation for illegal betting during the previous season. Faé tried to cool that storyline, saying Wahi arrived calm, motivated and fully focused on helping the team, while also noting that all 26 players in the squad can share the field. That leaves the real uncertainty where it belongs: not in Costa de Marfil’s intent, which Faé has made clear, but in how much of the match Wahi will actually play.
Faé has framed this as more than a single night in Toronto. Costa de Marfil has spent more than two and a half years building the project he is defending, and Friday offers the clearest test yet of whether that identity can carry the African champion past Alemania and into the next round with authority.
