EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsTORONTO -- Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fa has 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.Fa 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.- Laurens: In a tournament of 'super subs,' Germany's Undav stands supreme- How teams can qualify for knockout round"I told him [Brown] to stay humble," Fa 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 Kessi'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," Fa 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 when he took his chance. That's experience. We will use this to continue to grow and correct the little mistakes that we make. We still have our destiny between our feet and we could qualify without having to rely on other results."After missing the chance to clinch a knockout stage berth for the first time in their four World Cup appearances, Ivory Coast turn their attention to their last group stage match against Curaao 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 Cte d'Ivoire, and we [are] going to go there with good mentality and try to live again," he said.The good news for Ivory Coast is that their next opponent, Curacao, are 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."Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
