Germany 2-1 Ivory Coast
by James Nalton
at Toronto Stadium

GERMANY turned to their bench to overcome Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday night, ensuring progress from the group stage with a game to spare.

VfB Stuttgart forward Deniz Undav entered the pitch at the 60th minute to give them what was required, scoring twice to see his team come back from a goal down to win and qualify for the knockout stages.

Ivory Coast themselves will still be expected to qualify, but have a little more to do yet. It’s not an ideal situation for them, though, as visa restrictions on fans from back home have left those fans unable to enter the US, where their final group game against Curacao will be played in Philadelphia.

Before Undav’s 36-minute Man of the Match performance, the occasion was defined by the performances of two impressive midfielders.

The 25-year-old Felix Nmecha, who was on the books of Manchester City as a youth, was one of the best players on the pitch for Germany, while on the other side, Ivory Coast’s 20-year-old defensive midfielder, Christ Inao Oulai, put in an eye-catching, assured performance that will make clubs across Europe sit up and take note.

Inao plays his club football in Turkey for Trabzonspor, but is on the radar of several Champions League clubs. His price tag might have risen somewhat by the end of this World Cup if he continues to put in performances like this.

Another Ivorian midfielder, Franck Kessie, opened the scoring after Liverpool-linked winger Yan Diomande found space at the byline, beating his man for pace and sending a dangerous ball across goal. After a couple of ricochets, the ball eventually fell to Kessie, who shocked the majority-German crowd in Toronto by giving Ivory Coast the lead.

After conceding, Julian Nagelsmann’s side looked at a loss as to how to get back in the game. They were getting nothing in the way of end product from the big-name Premier League players Kai Havertz and Florian Wirtz, while Bayern star Jamal Musiala was also struggling to make things happen.

In the end, it was the substitutes Nadiem Amiri and Undav who combined for the equaliser, and just as the game looked to be petering out into a draw, Undav found the net in the fourth minute of added time, turning and shooting following an excellent pass through the lines from Nmecha.

Ivory Coast now travel to Philadelphia for their final group game, but will once again be disadvantaged by not having support in the US from back home.

“The supporters have cancelled the trip because the US government does not want to see supporters from certain countries, including Ivory Coast, on its soil,” said supporters’ group committee president Julien Kouadio Adonis ahead of the tournament.

“The United States has been clear with us, saying they do not want to see our supporters.

“This situation hurts us deeply because it prevents us from fulfilling our sacred duty, which is to support our team.”

It’s another example of an uneven playing field at this World Cup due to the US as hosts, but the Ivory Coast players who almost shocked Germany will be doing everything they can to make those watching from home proud for the rest of the tournament.