Fans reacted to the absence of midfielder Christ Oulai in Cote d’Ivoire’s starting XI against Curacao in their final 2026 FIFA World Cup group match in Philadelphia on Thursday (June 25).
Oulai, 20, started the 2-1 loss to Germany on matchday two, where he won two tackles and made as many clearances, having come off the bench in the 1-0 campaign-opening win over Ecuador.
Thanks for the submission!
However, the midfielder doesn’t find a place in the starting XI as Emerse Fae’s side look to seal their knockouts place without depending on results elsewhere, which hasn’t impressed fans:
“Where is oulai🤔,” one tweeted.
“Where the f**k is Oulai????,” another commented.
“Where is oulai? are you stupid?,” one posted.
“I wish Oulai had been in the starting lineup,” another posted (as translated from French).
The 20-year-old Trabzonspor midfielder is yet to record a goal contribution for The Elephants in 11 games since his debut in a 1-0 friendly defeat to Saudi Arabia in November.
While Oulai wasn’t involved in the FIFA World Cup qualifying cmapaign, he played four games at AFCON 2025, where Fae’s side lost 2-1 to Egypt in the quarter-finals.
“It came down to small details” – How Cote d’Ivoire head coach dissected 2026 FIFA World Cup defeat to Germany
Cote d’Ivoire head coach Emerse Fae rued his side’s inability to capitalise on their opportunities in the 2026 FIFA World Cup defeat to four-time champions Germany last week.
Franck Kessie’s first-half opener had given The Elephants a half-time lead, but a double by substitute Denis Undav gave Germany a come-from-behind victory, sealing their place in the knockouts.
“We knew it was going to be a high-level match, with both teams fighting for top spot,” Fae said (via Cafonline). “We scored first and had a strong spell at the start of the second half, but unfortunately we couldn’t get the second goal.
“Germany are a great football nation, and they came back to win the match in the end. It is disappointing for us, but we lost with honour. We played a good game, and it came down to small details. You could feel the difference in experience between the two teams.”
Cote d’Ivoire will be in control of their knockouts destiny if they avoid defeat to Curacao in their final 2026 FIFA World Cup group game, with a win taking them through as group runners-up.
Edited by Bhargav