Returning to the world stage after 12 years the 2023 African champions are ambitious and have plenty of options in attack

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.

Côte d’Ivoire return to the world stage for the first time since the golden years of the early 2010s. They do not quite have the star power of old but their squad is packed with recognisable faces to fans in Europe’s top leagues. The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winners, on home soil, usually play 4-3-3 although there are questions over who will play in arguably the most important position: holding midfield. Jean Michaël Seri, the 34-year-old former Fulham and Hull midfielder, had made the position his own but hasn’t been the same since spending a year out of the game with an ankle injury. Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahim Sangaré is expected to step into the breach.

The coach, Emerse Faé, prefers a style of play that prioritises defensive solidity and relies on the individual qualities of wingers on the counterattack. Les Éléphants did not concede a single goal in 10 qualifying matches to get here. Their defence, which sometimes evolves into a back three, is led by Roma’s Evan N’Dicka, whose revolving defensive partners include Atalanta’s Odilon Kossounou and Reims’ Emmanuel Agbadou. Franck Kessié, formerly of Barcelona and Milan, still runs the midfield and wears the captain’s armband. Then Faé has a wealth of options in attack such as Nicolas Pépé, Amad Diallo and Yan Diomandé. Evann Guessand may bear the weight of expectation in the absence of a Didier Drogba-type figure up front.

14 June v Ecuador, Philadelphia (7pm local, 15 June 12am BST, 15 June 9am AEST)

20 June v Germany, Toronto (4pm local, 9pm BST, 21 June 6am AEST)

25 June v Curaçao, Philadelphia (4pm local, 9pm BST, 26 June 6am AEST)

Absent in 2018 and 2022, Côte d’Ivoire want to make the most of their return to the big time and the president of their federation has set expectations high. “The fixed objective is to play at least six games, which is the quarter-finals,” said Yacine Idriss Diallo. He will want to move on from a disappointing Afcon defence in January, exiting to Egypt at the quarter-finals in Morocco. Friendly wins in March (1-0 v Scotland and 4-0 v South Korea) showed signs of promise.

“I’m not going to the United States for a holiday,” Emerse Faé has said. “I’m a competitor and my objective is to go as far as possible. Why not win it?” The former midfielder has been on the coaching staff since 2022, initially as an assistant to Jean-Louis Gasset. After Gasset was sacked, remarkably mid-tournament at a home Afcon in 2024, Faé stepped in and led the hosts to their third continental title. This has been the 42-year-old’s first job as a head coach after he had spells in charge of youth teams at Nice and Clermont in France. This is his second World Cup experience having played for Côte d’Ivoire at their debut in 2006.

Nicolas Pépé arrives at the World Cup in perfect shape to lead Côte d’Ivoire from the front. The former Arsenal winger was nominated for the player of the season award in La Liga after a fine campaign with third-place Villarreal that included eight goals and eight assists. The left-footer excels coming in off the right wing but can also play as a second striker. His main qualities lie in his dribbling but he’s not shy of letting fly when in range. Absent from Afcon in Morocco owing to personal reasons, this is a first, and probably last, World Cup for ‘Nico’ after winning his first cap 10 years ago. “I’m 30 now and I don’t see myself staying with the national team until 34 to play at the next World Cup,” he has admitted.

Christ Inao is the present and the future of the Côte d’Ivoire side. The 19-year-old is a risk-taking midfielder who has enjoyed a breakthrough season in senior football with Trabzonspor in Turkey. He won his first cap last November and played his way into the starting lineup during the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. After impressing in the Super Lig and winning the Turkish Cup, Trabzonspor hope to make a handsome profit on any future sale of Inao. Some standout displays this summer could increase that margin.

Franck Kessié has been a Côte d’Ivoire international since 2014, winning his first cap a few months after their last World Cup appearance in Brazil. Now, at 29, he is the captain and yet still goes under the radar. The box-to-box midfielder provides much-needed balance to Faé’s team and does a lot of the dirty work. He left Barcelona for Al-Ahli in 2023 and has won back to back AFC Champions League titles with the Saudi Arabian club, being named best player in the competition this past season. A serial winner, Kessié also has league medals from Serie A and La Liga.

Not many Ivorians will make the trip to North America owing to a number of administrative constraints placed on citizens of Côte d’Ivoire who want to enter the United States. It will be down to the diaspora already in the States to bring the noise, although their group fixture against Germany will take place in Toronto. The other two are in Philadelphia, where the team are based. Expect to see some familiar colours: the flag is very similar to Ireland’s and the team strip is like the bright orange of the Netherlands. Song and dance, and a dose of humour, form the base of the Ivorian support.

Everyone in Côte d’Ivoire is happy to be back at a World Cup for the first time in 12 years. No comments have been made by the federation or players regarding politics in any of the host nations, including the United States, nor about the ticket costs. The Trump administration said in May that Côte d’Ivoire fans would be exempt from paying the $15,000 visa deposit to enter the US if they had valid match tickets, but that was way too late for the majority of people who had considered going. Côte d’Ivoire was one of a number of countries affected by the Trump administration’s cuts to USAID, with bilateral deals for public health aid agreed instead.

Written by Prince Akabla for Le Kpakpato Sportif.

World Cup 2026: Guardian Experts’ Network

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/01/cote-divoire-world-cup-2026-team-guide