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Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae has dismissed Engin Firat’s claims that Harambee Stars deserved a win in the 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday, June 11, 2024.

The match, held at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi, ended in a 0-0 draw, and Firat said his side was more aggressive and thus deserved a win.

Fae, the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning head coach, said Harambee Stars sat back and waited for the Elephants to make mistakes, but that did not happen.

“I don’t think that they deserved to win because they sat back and decided to wait for us to make mistakes for them to maximize. They created only one big opportunity and a fantastic situation, but missed the others. I think the draw was more of a fair result,” Fae told the press.

Firat’s take

Firat said he was impressed by his team, but added that sometimes luck and quality matter.

“Ivory Coast had only the ball and one goal chance; the rest were on our side. Sometimes it’s luck; sometimes quality is missing. We should have won against Burundi, and a win against Ivory Coast would have put us in a good position.”

“We had several chances, and Ivory Coast had only one opportunity. The rest were on our side. Sometimes it comes down to luck or a lack of quality,” the former Moldova head coach said.

Firat added that his team performed way better given that the odds were against them. The match against Ivory Coast, the group leaders and unbeaten so far, came after Kenya drew against Burundi in a previous qualifier.

“I know everybody expected us to lose easily, but you see that even if the boys play in lower leagues, if they unite as a team and follow our tactical approach, we have a high chance to win,” Firat argued.

The draw took Ivory Coast’s tally to 10 points, while Kenya have five.

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