On August 15, 2012, the Lokomotiv Stadium in Moscow hosted a friendly match between Ivory Coast and Russia. Sabri Lamouchi, the coach of the Ivory Coast national team, selected 24 players for this match, including Abdul Razak, who earned his first international call-up. Notable players like Didier Drogba, Kolo Touré, Romaric Ndri Koffi, and Guy Demel were also part of the squad. However, Salomon Kalou from Lille and goalkeeper Barry “Copa” Boubacar were absent due to injury.
A surprising inclusion in the squad was Abdul Razak, a 19-year-old midfielder from Manchester City. Born to a Nigerian father and an Ivorian mother, Razak expressed a strong desire to represent Ivory Coast. Despite facing stiff competition in his position, Razak aimed to make an impact and hoped to catch the eye of Lamouchi for future call-ups, particularly for the Ivory Coast-Senegal match in the CAN 2013 qualifiers.
The list of selected players included:
Goalkeepers:
- KONE IBRAHIM (BOULOGNE, France)
- GNANHOUAN GERARD (US Avranches, France)
- YEBOAH DANIEL (Dijon, France)
Defenders:
- BAMBA SOULEMAN (Trabzonspor, Turkey)
- DIARRASSOUBA OUSMANE V. (Padurii, Romania)
- EBOUE EMMANUEL (Galatasaray, Turkey)
- LOLO IGOR (FC Kuban Krasnodar, Russia)
- TIENE SIAKA (PSG, France)
- TOURE KOLO ABIB (Manchester City, England)
- GUY DEMEL (West Ham FC, England)
Midfielders:
- ABDUL RAZACK (Manchester City, England)
- GOSSO GOSSO JEAN-JACQUES (Orduspor, Turkey)
- MAX GRADEL (AS St-Etienne, France)
- NE MARCO (FC Kuban Krasnodar, Russia)
- N’DRI KOFFI ROMARIC (Espanyol Barcelona, Spain)
- TIOTE CHEIK ISMAËL (Newcastle, England)
- TOURE YAYA GNEGNERI (Manchester City, England)
- YA KONAN DIDIER (Hannover 96, Germany)
- ZOKORA DIDIER (Trabzonspor, Turkey)
Forwards:
- BONY WILFRIED (Vitesse Arnhem, Netherlands)
- DROGBA DIDIER (Shanghai Shenhua FC, China)
- KEITA KADER (Al Sadd, Qatar)
- TRAORE LACINA (Anzhi Makhachkala, Russia)
- YAO KOUASSI GERVAIS (Arsenal, England)
