Ivory Coast coach, Emerse Fae, has targeted qualifying Ivory Coast for the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants has missed out in the last two editions of the Mundial in Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022 respectively.
Cote d’Ivoire’s last appearance in the FIFA World Cup was at Brazil 2014, where they were eliminated in the group stage after failing to advance past Colombia, Greece, and Japan in Group C.
To qualify for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the Elephants must navigate their way through a tough group featuring Gabon, Burundi, Gambia, Seychelles, and Kenya.
Fae acknowledges that another World Cup miss would be unacceptable, stating that his team is fully prepared to be at their best in the upcoming fixtures.
“It’s important for our country because we missed the last two World Cups. Being in the next one is vital, especially with nine – possibly 10 – African teams participating in the tournament,” he told Flashscore.
“It would be hard to accept the Ivory Coast not making it to the World Cup. This challenge is very important to me and has been on my mind since our last game against Chad in the AFCON qualifiers.
“We’re going to give it our all. We’re going to work extremely hard to be prepared for the match. Our goal is to win our next two games against Burundi and Gambia, maintain the top spot in the group, and increase our chances of qualifying for the World Cup.”
He further stated that managing the star players in the Elephants squad would not pose a challenge, thanks to his leadership style.
Fae added: “It’s not a problem for me. I think the fact that I’m a young coach is not a problem to manage these big players.
“I just want to be equal with all the players, with the youngest, with the oldest. I just try to do my job the same way for all the players.
“When you’re equal, I think the players want to try to do their best in the field to win each game.”
After four games played, Ivory Coast sit top of Group F with 10 points. Fae will lead his side to take on Brundi and Gambia in the Matchday five and six games in March 2025.
