Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae has said that comments made by former Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger about his team's playing style could be considered racist — a reaction that came after the Elephants sealed a historic place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout rounds.

Schweinsteiger, working as a commentator for German broadcaster ARD ahead of Germany's 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast on 20 June, described the Ivorian side as playing "a bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics," adding that Germany had to "be prepared for it to be unpredictable."

Fae's disappointment

Speaking after Ivory Coast's 2-0 win over Curacao in Philadelphia on Thursday — a result that confirmed second place in Group E and the team's first-ever appearance in a World Cup last 32 — Fae did not hold back.

"I think it's sad," Fae said. "Schweinsteiger was a very good player; I have always loved him as a midfielder and the way he understood football. When I heard his comments, I was disappointed in the man."

"It is odd he would speak that way. We could call it racist, if we were calling a spade a spade."

Fae acknowledged he had no choice but to continue his work, insisting that African teams are far more than a physical force. "All I can show is that on the pitch African teams are not just physical, we are technical and tactical," he said. "I can only hope it is a clumsy statement, rather than something going on in his mind."

The Ivory Coast manager also suggested that Schweinsteiger may have made the remarks to court controversy and generate attention, rather than out of genuine conviction.

Klopp declines to comment

The controversy has already reverberated in Germany. Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, attending the World Cup in New York, declined to address the subject when approached by journalists on Wednesday.

"This is a serious subject, and I don't even know what is appropriate to say," Klopp told reporters. "For African people it's one thing, for other people it's another thing, and I'm not here."

Ivory Coast's historic run

Despite falling to Germany in the group stage, Ivory Coast have reached the last 32 courtesy of wins over Ecuador and Curacao. They will face France or Norway in the first knockout round on 30 June in Arlington, Texas.