Ivory Coast looks to put Germany loss at World Cup in rearview mirror

TORONTO — If Ivory Coast wins its next match, Saturday's loss won’t matter.

After surrendering two second-half goals to Germany and missing the chance to clinch a knockout stage berth for the first time in its four World Cup appearances, Ivory Coast turns its attention to its last group stage match against Curacao on Thursday.

Win, and the Elephants are in.

Forward Amad Diallo said he and his teammates will get over the Germany loss. They have to.

“We (have) respect for ourselves, but we want to make history for Côte d’Ivoire, and we (are) going to go there with good mentality and try to live again,” he said.

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.

The team seemed a little shocked as well, and players spoke about the pain of losing a match they felt they should have won.

Still, the good news for Ivory Coast is that its next opponent, Curacao, is No. 83 in FIFA’s international team rankings, well down the list from the 31st-ranked Ivory Coast. The Caribbean nation also lost its first match to Germany, 7-1.

“It’s going to be a big moment for everyone, for this new generation, because we know we have quality in the team,” Diallo said. “But the priority now is we are really focused on ourselves. It’s going to be a very hard game.”

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Alexandria Smith is a student in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.