After Sporting v Bodø/Glimt, Ousmane Diomande receives huge news | OneFootball

The Ivory Coast football federation released, this Wednesday, March 18, the list of players called up by Emerse Faé for the preparation matches against South Korea on March 28 and Scotland on March 31, including three players who play in Portugal, one of them being Ousmane Diomande.

Alongside the central defender from Sporting are Seko Fofana, a midfielder from Porto, and Ghislain Konan, a left-back from Gil Vicente. However, the major highlight of the selected squad is the absence of Nicolas Pépé, a winger from Villarreal with 53 international caps, putting his World Cup participation at risk, as this is the last call-up before the final announcement of the selected players for the tournament.

In the 2026 World Cup, the Ivory Coast team will face Ecuador (on June 15), Germany (on June 20), and Curaçao (on June 28), nations with which they share Group K of the coveted competition, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

It should be noted that, despite having participated in the second leg against Bodø/Glimt (5-0) this Tuesday, Diomande was not included in the starting eleven structured by Rui Borges. The physical management of the Ivorian weighed on the decision.

In the current 2025/26 sports season, Ousmane Diomande – valued at 45 million euros – has played 18 matches for Sporting: 12 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, seven in the Champions League, two in the Portuguese Cup, and one in the Super Cup. In total, the central defender has accumulated 1,731 minutes and scored one goal.

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