Ivory Coast
The youngest team here, and rising
The youngest squad here, long cursed — and their super-sub scored a 90th-minute winner.
Watchability4/5
Drama4/5
Star power3/5
Title shot2/5
Team rating
78TEAM
- Attack78
- Midfield78
- Defense77
Next matches
- Next upvs GermanyBMO Field, TorontoJun 20
- vs CuraçaoLincoln Financial Field, PhiladelphiaJun 25
The read
Ivory Coast spent a golden era — the Didier Drogba years — making World Cups but never escaping the first round, always drawn into a brutal ',' then missing the last two tournaments entirely. This is the YOUNGEST squad at the 2026 World Cup, and they didn't concede a single goal in African qualifying. Amad Diallo's 90th-minute strike beat Ecuador 1-0 in their opener.
The fan’s readThe youngest squad at the World Cup, finally breaking a long curse, conceding nothing in qualifying and winning on a 90th-minute super-sub strike — a long-haunted nation daring to believe.
The cast
- Emerse FaéWon the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil after being promoted mid-tournament.manager
- Amad Diallo ★He came off the bench in the 90th minute and won the game — Ivory Coast's youngest-ever World Cup scorer and the tournament's most ruthless dribbler.ClubManchester United
- Franck KessiéIvory Coast's box-to-box engine — he runs the whole midfield, both ways.ClubAl-Ahli
- Simon AdingraA flyer who turns one yard of space into a counter-attack.ClubBrighton
- Yan DiomandéA 19-year-old breakout already at a Champions League club.ClubRB Leipzig
Key moments
- 20242023 AFCON championsIvory Coast won the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, beating Nigeria 2-1 in the final — their third continental title — after a chaotic run in which they sacked their coach mid-tournament.
- 2006–2014The Drogba curseDuring the Didier Drogba golden generation, Ivory Coast reached three World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014) and never once escaped the group stage — twice drawn into a "group of death."
- 20142014 — heartbreak vs GreeceA 93rd-minute penalty by Greece knocked Ivory Coast out of the 2014 World Cup group stage — the defining failure of their famed golden generation.