World Cup 2026: Ivory Coast face difficult opener against Ecuador, warns Kalen Damessi

Former Togolese international Kalen Damessi believes Ecuador hold the advantage over Ivory Coast ahead of the two nations’ opening match of the tournament.

The Elephants begin their World Cup campaign against Ecuador hoping to make a winning start, but Damessi told Africafoot that Emerse Faé’s side should not be considered favourites for the Group Stage encounter.

The former striker based his assessment on several factors, beginning with the gap between the two teams in the FIFA rankings.

“The first reason is the FIFA ranking of the two teams, 23rd and 33rd, respectively for Ecuador and Ivory Coast. We need to look at the reality of the numbers.”

Damessi also pointed to Ecuador’s recent form under head coach Sebastián Beccacece, describing La Tri as one of the strongest teams entering the competition.

“The second reason is Ecuador’s form; they finished second behind Argentina in World Cup qualifying, ahead of Colombia, Uruguay, and Brazil. They are undefeated in 19 matches.”

He added that Ecuador’s recent World Cup experience could prove important, particularly as Ivory Coast return to the tournament for the first time since 2014.

“Thirdly, they participated in the last World Cup finals in Qatar, where Ivory Coast has been absent since 2014. This lack of reference points could be a factor.”

Damessi further argued that Ecuador’s squad contains several players already performing at the highest level of European football.

“They have key players who perform at the highest level: Pacho, two-time European champion with PSG, Hincapié, finalist in the last Champions League and English champion, Caicedo, one of the best midfielders in the world, as well as Enner Valencia, the experienced captain and goalscorer.”

In contrast, he described Ivory Coast as a talented but youthful side still seeking to establish itself consistently on the world stage.

“On the other side, we have an Ivory Coast team which is the youngest in this competition, with talented and promising players, a status of African champion 2023, but which comes with the need to confirm in order to be taken more seriously on the world stage.”

Despite favouring Ecuador, Damessi insisted Ivory Coast are capable of competing if they approach the match with confidence and tactical discipline.

“How should we play against Ecuador? Without any inferiority complex, by trusting in the defensive solidity we’ve built up since the last AFCON on home soil.

Against a team that relies heavily on direct play, with long balls behind the defense to find Valencia, or wide behind the full-backs, we’ll need to be effective in pressing when we lose possession and vigilant against Ecuador’s attacking transitions.”

He also suggested a possible tactical adjustment for the Elephants.

“This is a team that struggles to manage the midfield and the spaces between the lines. Switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation, like against France, would be interesting in order to have a free-roaming player (Nicolas Pépé or Amad Diallo) around whom the wingers could combine inside. This would allow either the full-backs to push forward or our number 9 to be found with through balls.”

In the end, Damessi expects a closely contested encounter and predicted a draw.

“The score of the match? A draw with goals from both sides.”