ABIDJAN
Many Ivorians remain hopeful their team will progress to the knockout stage of the World Cup despite a 2-1 loss to Colombia on Thursday in Brasilia.
Both teams went on for the break in a goalless deadlock, with a better possession for the Elephants but the South Americans struck twice before the 70th minute to claim a strong lead before the Ivorians pulled one back later on to end the clash in a 2-1 victory for the Los Cafeteros.
“Our team played very well. They had better possession and more shots on target, and as you can see around, people are very impressed despite the 2-1 loss," Mambe Beugre, the governor of Abidjan district told Anadolu Agency after the game.
"We are proud of this team and it is one of the best performance by an African team so far at the World Cup.” He added.
Before the game, Ivorians were in high spirit following their 2-1 win over Japan in the Group C opener and believed the Elephants could reproduce the same output on Thursday.
“We had strong confidence ahead of the Colombia match. We knew it would be tough because the South American are very good in football, but we believed our team could tear them down and pick another three point to seal a qualification to the next round,” Jonas Asale, a 26-year-old bus driver, told AA.
The streets of Ivory Coast’s largest city Abidjan were packed with sellers of the national team’s jersey, flags, fancy goggles and colourful bracelets all Thursday as locals awaited the match.
Many had hurried home from work to settle down in front of their television sets, surrounded by family members. After the 2-1 defeat, wide frustration across the city was expected but instead many locals interviewed by AA said they were not down at all.
“It would have caused pain and frustration if the Ivorian team did not play very well,” Kone Issiaka, a 56-year-old father of five, told AA at his home where kids kept jumping and singing after the match.
“But they played very well and it gave us hope that we can win our last group match against Greece to most likely qualify to the knockout stage,” he said.
- Hot spots -
Normally, when Ivory Coast loses a game in a major competition, only a few has the mood to go to bars and nightclubs. However, such places were filled up with customers on Thursday evening after the game, with many wearing the Orange, White and Green jersey of the national team.
“For once, you don’t hear supporters cursing the players after a defeat. Instead they are being praised and encouraged. Even the coach Sabri Lamouchi, who had been widely criticised, is pulling attraction now because of how his team played today,” Jean Luc Kouame, a 32-year-old banker, told AA at a bar in Abidjan.
Ivory Coast will meet Greece in their final group match on June 24 in Fortaleza and would aim to snatch a favourable outcome to achieve their 2014 World Cup objective of reaching the knockout stage for the first time ever.
By Kingsley Kobo
englishnews@aa.com.tr
