Ivory Coast (Les Éléphants) – World Cup Profile

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·12 de junho de 2026

Ivory Coast (Les Éléphants) – World Cup Profile

After long 12 years away, Ivory Coast are back on football’s biggest stage, and they want to make it count.

They no longer have Didier Drogba or Yaya Touré, but what they do have is a really strong core group that can cause damage to any team in the tournament.

Vídeos OneFootball

So without further ado, let’s take a look at Ivory Coast.

How They Qualified

World Cup qualifiers in Africa have always been known for its difficulty and unforgiving nature because in the past, even if you top your group, you still have to go through playoffs where anything can happen.

This year though, the format changed and with an expanded format, it allowed for most of African giants to make it through.

Ivory Coast had a fantastic record in the qualifiers, topping their group with no losses. Gabon did give them a challenge, but Les Éléphants earned a valuable draw in Gabon which helped them finish above them with one point.

They also scored 25 goals in 10 games while conceded none. So it will be interesting to see if they can bring over that form to the World Cup.

Key Players

Franck Kessié

A player with so much experience in this squad is Franck Kessié, who will captain Ivory Coast at the World Cup.

After breaking through at Atalanta, Kessié moved to AC Milan and he continued to perform at a high level. Then, he moved to Barcelona but unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned for the midfielder.

Now in Saudi Arabia with Al Ahli, the 29-year-old is ready to make history with Ivory Coast by leading them to their first ever knockout appearance.

Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe is another player who has so much experience at the highest level of the game.

After his impressive form in France with Lille, Pepe earned a mouth water $92 million (72 million in British pounds) move to Arsenal. But unfortunately, he failed to live up to expectations and faced a lot of criticism from both the media and fans.

Since then, he’s tried to rebuild his career with Nice in France and Trabzonspor in Turkey. But it’s Villarreal in Spain where he found his true home, and is showing the quality he once showed before the Arsenal move.

In his last two games, he had two assists against Atlético Madrid and then an assist against France. Not a bad way to get himself ready for the World Cup.

Potential Breakout Player: Amad Diallo

An exciting player who could be vital for Ivory Coast this World Cup is Amad Diallo.

Now 23, Diallo came up through the Atalanta youth system, and caught the eyes of Manchester United as a teenager.

After a couple of loan stints, the winger has become a key part of United this past season, making 32 Premier League appearances.

He’s used to a lot of pressure as he plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and he will be vital to Ivory Coast’s campaign this summer.

World Cup History

This will only be Ivory Coast’s fourth appearance at the World Cup. They hadn’t qualified before 2006, so this is their fourth time qualifying in last six editions. Just like another team in this group, Ivory Coast have experienced massive growth in the 21st century.

Unfortunately, they have not advanced past the group stage in all three previous appearances, despite having strong squads. They were unlucky in 2006 and 2010 as they were drawn in tough groups. 2014, however, was a massive failure on their part as they surprisingly lost to Greece on the last matchday to miss out on the knockout stage.

Now with an expanded format, some of the third place teams will qualify to the next stage. Could this year be Ivory Coast’s first time playing a World Cup knockout game? It very well could be.

Coach Profile: Emerse Faé

After constantly relying on European head coaches, Ivory Coast will have a former player leading them in this World Cup. His name is Emerse Faé.

Born and raised in France, Faé ended up representing Ivory Coast instead and played in the 2010 World Cup. Upon retirement, he moved to Ivory Coast to start his coaching career.

He was the coach of Ivory Coast U-23s and assistant to Jean-Louis Gasset in the national team. When Gasset was sacked in the middle of AFCON tournament, he was given the caretaker role. Faé shocked everyone by going on to win the AFCON for Ivory Coast. So he was given the permanent job afterwards.

Faé then continued to deliver for Ivory Coast, helping them qualify to their first World Cup in 12 years. He just helped them beat France and Scotland in friendlies, so they are looking really good under him.

Fan Culture

Ivorians love football. When the national team plays, it’s not only a party throughout the country, but also in countries with large Ivorian diaspora like France.

So expect to see a lot of Ivorians showing up for the World Cup, especially because there is a big number of Ivorian-Americans on the U.S. East Coast.

Fans will be the 12th player for this team. If they can bring good atmosphere, and they will, then Ivory Coast have a great chance to make their first ever knockout appearance.

Ivory Coast Group Stage Fixtures

Ivory Coast vs Ecuador– June 14Philadelphia Stadium, Pennslyvania7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PTIvory Coast vs Germany –June 20Toronto Stadium, Ontario4:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM PT

Ivory Coast vs Curaçao – June 25Philadelphia Stadium, Pennslyvania4:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM PT