The Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad is coming together, as the nation prepare for a first World Cup in 12 years.
They qualified for World Cup 2026 without a single loss in Group F, but just a point ahead of Gabon.
Les Elephants won't be favourites for the main prize, but they do boast one of the more talented squads at the tournament.
Ivory Coast will be hoping for a quieter World Cup than their triumphant Africa Cup of Nations a couple of years ago, which saw them sack Jean-Louis Gasset mid-tournament before going on to win the trophy with incumbent boss Emerse Fae.
In Amad, they have one of Manchester United's main attackers, supplemented by the likes of Evann Guessand, Simon Adingra and Nicolas Pepe.
Young midfielder Yan Diomande, profiled by FFT's Joe Donnohue in our The Boy's A Bit Special series, is one of the nation's brightest stars, but misses out on this squad through injury.
There's plenty to get excited about in this squad – how far can they go in this summer's tournament?
Squad
Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad: The latest selection
- GK: Yahia Fofana (Caykur Rizespor)
- GK: Alban Lafont (Panathinaikos)
- GK: Mohamed Kone (Charleroi)
- DF: Ghislain Konan (Gil Vicente)
- DF: Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta)
- DF: Wilfried Singo (Galatasaray)
- DF: Evan Ndicka (Roma)
- DF: Emmanuel Agbadou (Besiktas)
- DF: Guela Doue (Strasbourg)
- DF: Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP)
- DF: Clement Akpa (Auxerre)
- MF: Franck Kessie (Al-Ahli)
- MF: Jean Michael Seri (Maribor)
- MF: Ibrahim Sangare (Nottingham Forest)
- MF: Seko Fofana (Porto)
- MF: Christ Inao Oulai (Trabzonspor)
- MF: Parfait Guiagon (Charleroi)
- FW: Nicolas Pepe (Villarreal)
- FW: Simon Adingra (Monaco)
- FW: Evann Guessand (Crystal Palace)
- FW: Amad (Manchester United)
- FW: Benie Traore (Basel)
- FW: Bazoumana Toure (TSG Hoffenheim)
- FW: Martial Godo (Strasbourg)
- FW: Elye Wahi (Nice)
Fixtures and results
Fixtures
- March 28, 2026: South Korea vs Ivory Coast, Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, England
- March 31, 2026: Scotland vs Ivory Coast, Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool, England
- June 4, 2026: France vs Ivory Coast, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, France
- June 14, 2026: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States
- June 20, 2026: Germany vs Ivory Coast, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
- June 25, 2026: Curacao vs Ivory Coast, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States
Recent results
- December 31, 2025: Gabon 2–3 Ivory Coast, Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco
- December 28, 2025: Ivory Coast 1–1 Cameroon, Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco
- December 24, 2025: Ivory Coast 1–0 Mozambique, Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco
- November 18: Oman 0-2 Ivory Coast, Al-Seeb Stadium, Seeb, Oman
- November 14: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Ivory Coast, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- October 14: Ivory Coast 3–0 Kenya, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- October 10: Seychelles 0–7 Ivory Coast, Côte d'Or National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre, Mauritius
- September 9: Gabon 0–0 Ivory Coast, Stade de Franceville, Franceville, Gabon
- September 5: Ivory Coast 1–0 Burundi, Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- June 10: Canada 0–0 (4–5 p) Ivory Coast, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
- June 7: Ivory Coast 0–1 New Zealand, BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
- March 25: Ivory Coast 1–0 Gambia, Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- March 21: Burundi 0–1 Ivory Coast, Honneur Stadium, Meknes, Morocco
Manager
Who is the Ivory Coast's manager?
Emerse Fae became the first manager ever to be appointed mid-international tournament and go onto win it when he took over during the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024.
Reading fans may recognise the name, with Fae playing a single season with the Royals in 2006/07 when they were in the Premier League. However, he only featured 11 times.
Since taking the permanent manager role of the Ivory Coast squad, Fae has lost just five times across 25 games.
Star player
Who is the Ivory Coast's star player?
Amad is one of Ivory Coast's best attackers and still has age on his side heading into this tournament.
He's proven adaptable, making Ruben Amorim's wing-back role work before reverting to his more common winger role under Michael Carrick, and excelling in both.
Having grown in importance at Old Trafford over the past few years, the same pattern appears to be following for country, with the 23-year-old a key feature during AFCON.
