Ivory Coast
Today's Talking Points
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1Ivory Coast's World Cup ended in the Round of 32, beaten 2-1 by Norway on June 30th when Erling Haaland scored the winner with four minutes to go. It's a painful way to exit, but the defeat came after Ivory Coast had already made history — this was the first time in the country's history they'd reached a World Cup knockout stage at all.
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2The high point was getting there in the first place. Wins over Ecuador and Curaçao either side of a narrow loss to Germany saw them finish second in their group, and the Curaçao win was the one that actually sealed a first-ever trip to the knockouts — a genuine landmark for a football nation that's produced serious talent for decades without this exact box being ticked.
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3Against Norway, Ivory Coast were behind with 20 minutes left, then substitute Amad Diallo dragged them level — clearing a Norwegian effort off the line at one end before scoring at the other. It's the kind of twenty-minute cameo that should have won the game and instead just delayed the ending.
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4Amad Diallo was the impact story: on for the second half, decisive at both ends, and unlucky to finish on the losing side after doing more in thirty-odd minutes than most players manage in ninety.
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5Ivory Coast go home from their first-ever World Cup knockout appearance having lost it late to one of the tournament's biggest stars. That's a genuinely good problem to have — the ceiling just got higher than it's ever been for this team.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Ivory Coast reached a World Cup knockout stage for the first time in their history, then lost it to an Erling Haaland winner with four minutes left — heartbreaking, but also the best World Cup the country's ever had.
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Avoid saying
Don't say "Ivory Coast always underachieve at World Cups" — that line belongs to the Drogba generation; this team just did something none of those sides managed, so the joke's out of date.