Cote d’Ivoire aim to maintain perfect start against Gambia in Bouake

Cote d’Ivoire and Gambia will put their perfect starts to the Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifiers on the line when they meet at Stade de la Paix de Bouake on Thursday evening.

Both sides have won their opening two Group C matches, collecting six points each. The fixture is the first of two meetings between the teams in five days, with the return match scheduled in Gambia on 17 November.

Herve Renard’s second spell in charge of Cote d’Ivoire began with two victories in official matches, although the Elephants subsequently lost a friendly against Cameroon. They opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Ghana, Malick Yalcouye scoring first before Franck Kessie converted a second-half penalty.

A second 2-0 victory followed against Somalia, with Bazoumana Toure and Yann Gboho on target.

The reigning African champions have yet to concede in the qualifiers and will be seeking a fifth consecutive win over Gambia. Cote d’Ivoire have scored nine goals and conceded none across those four meetings, while their home record against the Scorpions is three wins from three, with eight goals scored and none allowed.

Gambia have made an equally strong attacking start to the campaign, scoring six times in their first two matches. After a 2-1 victory over Somalia, Johnny McKinstry’s side produced an impressive 4-2 comeback win away to Ghana.

Ebrima Colley has been central to that form, scoring three times across the two games, including twice against the Black Stars.

Gambia are aiming for a third successive victory, something they have not achieved for five years. That run would pre-date McKinstry’s appointment in June 2024. Their principal weakness has been at the other end of the pitch, however, as they have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches despite scoring 10 goals during that period.

Amad Diallo returns to the Cote d’Ivoire squad after recovering from a fitness concern, providing Renard with another attacking option for the two-match sequence. Odilon Kossounou and Guela Doue are injured, while Wilfried Singo, Simon Adingra, Evann Guessand and Sebastien Haller were not selected.

Gambia welcome back Musa Barrow and Yankuba Minteh after both recovered from injuries that ruled them out of the September international window. Alieu Fadera and Adama Sidibeh are unavailable because of injury, while James Gomez was not called up.

Jesper Ceesay and Suleiman Camara have also withdrawn with injuries, leading to the inclusion of Saidou Khan and Salieu Drammeh.

Gambia’s attacking threat means Cote d’Ivoire may struggle to record another comfortable clean sheet, but the hosts have shown greater collective control and possess enough quality in the final third to secure a narrow 2-1 victory.