Ivory Coast coach Faé slams Germany's 'lack of fair play' - ESPN

TORONTO — Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Faé criticized what he said was a lack of fair play from Germany during his team's 2-1 World Cup defeat on Saturday at BMO Field.

Faé was angry after his defender Wilfried Singo put the ball out because he was injured but Nathaniel Brown, the German left back, decided not to give the ball back to Ivory Coast and instead launched a German attack with a throw-in.

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«I told him [Brown] to stay humble,» Faé told reporters after the game. «He had a great game, and he doesn't need to talk badly to us because he is losing or at 1-1 because he wants to win.

»We would have liked more fair play from Germany. We would have liked them to give us the ball back when Singo got injured. They are a great football nation, and we take example from them, so I was disappointed by their lack of fair play."

Ivory Coast seemed one step ahead of Germany throughout the first half Saturday and a chunk of the second, with midfielder Franck Kessié's first-half goal silencing German fans for a long stretch.

But the German side of the sold-out crowd erupted when Deniz Undav scored the winning goal, his second of the match, leaving Ivory Coast fans hanging their heads.

«Both teams deserved to win and had the chances to win the game,» Faé said. «Well done to Germany. They won the game because of their experience. We had a great game, and I am really proud of how my players play against one of the favourites of the competition. We have to use this defeat for the rest of the tournament.

»We could have scored a second goal at 1-1, but we missed our chance. But they scored theirs. Undav was so calm