Fae eyes bigger things for Elephants after Ecuador victory

The Ivorians became the first African team to register a win at this World Cup, when they beat Ecuador with a late winner from Amad Diallo. In a group that also has Germany and Curaçao, this win almost guarantees a passage into the next stage for the Elephants, and Fae had said earlier that they are not here to settle for no.2 either...

"We've prepared for this and we came to the United States for this reason. We've arrived here with ambition, we don't just want to visit and go home after the first round."

They have the youngest squad at this World Cup, with a good average of 25.84 years. One of the players being the special Liverpool-bound talent, Yan Diomande. Fae says the RB Leipzig attacker is still going places, and reveals that he will only decide on his next move after this World Cup...

"Yan Diomande is a very talented player, but on top of that he is still a youngster who has a lot of room left to grow. He works hard and has a laugh with everyone in the group. As soon as the technical staff gives him advice he listens," explained Fae

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It wasn’t an easy game for the Ivorians, as they started slowly with the South Americans in charge of the first half, but Fae says this is all down to his young team being at their first World Cup and they had to warm up to the big stage.

Fae has also said that they are not heavily reliant on Diallo, despite him having scored the winning goal in Philadelphia. He says during the qualifiers they struggled with goals, but now they are reaping the rewards of their hard work.