Away from Sporting, Diomande turns up at World Cup in bold outfit (Video) | OneFootball

Ousmane Diomande is already in the United States to compete in the 2026 World Cup and received an enthusiastic welcome from Ivory Coast fans. The African national team arrived in Philadelphia, the city where they will be based during the opening stage of the competition.

Upon arrival at the team hotel, hundreds of fans turned up to support the Elephants. The Sporting defender stood out for his chosen look, appearing dressed in white and wearing a striking orange jacket decorated with the image of a large elephant on the back, while thanking the supporters for their affection.

Ivory Coast head into the World Cup in high spirits after beating France 2-1 in their final warm-up match, played last Thursday. Diomande featured in that friendly, coming off the bench in the 75th minute.

The Ivorians’ opening match is scheduled for 15 June against Ecuador in Philadelphia. Drawn in Group E, Ivory Coast will also face Curaçao and Germany in a tournament taking place between 11 June and 19 July in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

In the 2025/26 season, Ousmane Diomande – valued at €42 million – made 31 appearances for Sporting: 17 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, nine in the Champions League, four in the Portuguese Cup and one in the Super Cup. In total, across 2,301 minutes played, the centre-back scored one goal and provided one assist.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.