Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad: Emerse Fae's latest selection

Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad: Ivory Coast celebrate winning the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations — Ivory Coast celebrate winning the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Image credit: Getty Images)

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Squad
Fixtures
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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.

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 Diallo, 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 missed out on the March 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 March 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

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

Who is Ivory Coast's manager?

Emerse Fae, the manager of the Ivory Coast national team (Image credit: Getty Images)

Emerse Fae became the first manager ever to be appointed mid-international tournament and go on to 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 playing for the Ivory Coast (Image credit: Getty Images)

Amad Diallo 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 2025.

Best XI

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Ewan is a freelance writer and social media manager who has worked for The Athletic, GOAL, 90min and OneFootball. From Gelsenkirchen to Riyadh, he has covered some of the biggest games in football in his three years in the industry.

With contributions from

Isaac Stacey StrongeFreelance Writer

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Ivory Coast World Cup 2026 squad: Emerse Fae's latest selection for the March international break