World Cup 2026: Ivory Coast win over France raises hopes of historic run

Ivory Coast’s 2-1 win over France may have come in a friendly against a much-changed side, but it still delivered a clear message before the 2026 FIFA World Cup: the Elephants should not be dismissed.

Morocco and Senegal have understandably been spoken of as Africa’s leading hopes for a deep run in North America, given their recent continental strength and global performances.

But Ivory Coast’s comeback victory over the 2018 world champions in Nantes has given Emerse Fae’s side fresh reason to believe they can also be serious contenders.

France led through Rayan Cherki, but Ivory Coast responded through Guela Doue before Amad Diallo scored the winner in the 84th minute.

It was only a warm-up match, and France were far from full strength, but the manner of the Ivorian performance showed balance, belief and attacking depth.

For a team placed in Group E with Ecuador, Germany and Curacao, it was the kind of result that can strengthen confidence before the serious work begins.

Historically significant win

Even allowing for the friendly status of the match, Ivory Coast’s victory carried historical weight.

France have rarely lost to African opposition in either competitive or non-competitive fixtures.

In nearly 30 meetings against African sides, this was only the fifth defeat suffered by the two-time world champions.

Senegal famously beat France at the 2002 World Cup, while South Africa and Tunisia defeated them at the 2010 and 2022 tournaments respectively. Nigeria also beat France in a 2009 friendly.

Ivory Coast had never beaten France in three previous attempts before Thursday’s match.

That made the result important beyond the immediate preparation for the World Cup.

It also gave encouragement to Senegal, who will face Didier Deschamps’ side in Group I at the MetLife Stadium on 16 June.

If Ivory Coast could disturb France’s rhythm, recover from behind and punish mistakes, Senegal will believe they can do something similar when the stakes are much higher.

…but this was not the ‘real’ France

Ivory Coast will take confidence from the result, but the win must also be placed in context.

France were missing several important players.

William Saliba was unavailable because of a back injury, while Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League-winning pair Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué did not feature.

Deschamps also made several changes at half-time, when France were leading, and again after 66 minutes.

Those changes left the hosts weakened and disjointed before Diallo’s late winner.

That said, Ivory Coast also made several second-half substitutions and were not at full strength themselves.

Key defenders Odilon Kossounou and Ousmane Diomande were not part of the starting central defensive pairing, with Diomande only involved late in the match.

The Elephants therefore deserve credit not only for the result, but also for how they managed the game after falling behind.

They stayed compact, grew in confidence and finished strongly against one of football’s biggest nations.

One Doue vs the other

One of the most striking stories of the night came through the Doue family.

Desire Doue had just become a European champion with Paris Saint-Germain, but in Nantes it was his older brother Guela who left with the bigger smile.

The Ivory Coast right-back equalised in the 53rd minute after the Elephants worked a fine team move and punished confused defending from France.

Guela took advantage of hesitation in the French back line, including another uncertain moment from Ibrahima Konaté, and swept the ball past Mike Maignan.

Born in France, the Strasbourg defender sang both national anthems before kick-off.

After scoring, he celebrated by kicking the corner flag, which carried the French Football Federation logo.

At full-time, the two brothers embraced warmly, but it was Guela who left the pitch as one of the main figures of the match.

“The coach gives me a lot of liberty,” Guela told NCI Television, “and that allows me to have a lot of fun on the pitch, connect with the players who are ahead of me, and I was able to bring a lot to the team today.

“It’s a shame I didn’t get to play against [my brother], as this was our first France-Ivory Coast match, but I’m happy, and he isn’t too fed up.”

Fofana catches the eye in goal

Fae will also have been encouraged by the performance of goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.

France created enough moments to test Ivory Coast, but Fofana kept his side in the contest with several important saves.

He could do little about Cherki’s opening goal, which was taken with quality, but he responded strongly after that.

Fofana made five saves and gave his defence confidence through his communication, positioning and presence.

That will matter at the World Cup, especially in a group containing Germany and Ecuador.

With Kossounou and Diomande expected to strengthen the defence further, Ivory Coast will believe they can develop a more secure platform before the tournament begins.

Fofana’s performance suggested that the Elephants have a goalkeeper capable of handling pressure when opponents dominate spells of possession.

Nicolas Pépé proves his worth

Nicolas Pépé also used the match to remind observers of his value to the Ivorian attack.

The Villarreal winger was not selected for the Africa Cup of Nations, but he has forced his way back into the World Cup conversation through form and consistency.

He followed up his goalscoring display against Scotland in March with another bright performance against France.

Pépé had a hand in 16 goals in 36 La Liga matches this season, and that club form has carried into the national team.

Fae has moved on from several experienced attacking names, with Sébastien Haller, Jérémie Boga and Wilfried Zaha missing out on World Cup places.

That leaves Pépé as the only attacker in the squad over the age of 24.

His experience could therefore be crucial in a forward line full of exciting but younger options.

Against France, Pépé showed intelligence, technique, speed and sharp movement.

His link-up with Guela Doue on the right also looked like a promising weapon for Ivory Coast in North America.

Attacking options galore

Ivory Coast will leave France with growing belief that they have the tools to cause problems at the World Cup.

This is a squad with many players who were part of the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil in 2024.

The challenge now is to become the first Ivory Coast side to reach the knockout stage of a World Cup.

Previous generations, including the country’s celebrated golden generation, failed to do so in 2006, 2010 and 2014.

Fae’s team look capable of changing that history.

They have defensive strength, midfield experience and a wide range of attacking options.

Captain Franck Kessié has returned from injury, giving the midfield greater authority and leadership.

In attack, Fae can call on Pépé, match-winner Diallo, new call-up Elye Wahi, RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande, and highly rated youngsters Ange-Yoan Bonny and Bazoumana Touré.

That gives Ivory Coast variety, pace and unpredictability.

The coach’s biggest challenge may not be finding attacking threat, but deciding how to fit so many forward options into the team without weakening its balance.

The France victory does not guarantee anything.

It was a friendly, against a rotated opponent, before the real pressure of the World Cup begins.

But it did show that Ivory Coast have quality, confidence and depth.

After beating France in Nantes, the Elephants have given their rivals one more reason to take them seriously.