Who: Ivory Coast vs Ghana
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
Where: Stade de Bouake, in Bouake, Ivory Coast
When: Thursday, September 24, at 7pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 16:00 GMT before our text commentary stream.
The qualification process for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off with a match befitting the final itself as Ivory Coast play Ghana.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Both nations are packed with high-profile players and are led by names that have managed at the highest levels of the game.
Al Jazeera takes a look at the mouth-watering opener on the path to the finals in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Who else is in Ivory Coast and Ghana’s AFCON qualifying group?
The Gambia and Somalia complete Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
In the next round of matches in the group, Ghana will entertain The Gambia on Tuesday, while Ivory Coast will travel to Somalia.
What are the expectations on Ivory Coast’s AFCON campaign?
Despite their round-of-32 exit in the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the hands of Norway, Ivory Coast’s task ahead is quite clear: win AFCON 2027.
The Elephants are led by Herve Renard, who is taking charge of the West African giants for the second time and replaced Emerse Fae following the World Cup.
The Frenchman previously managed Ivory Coast from 2014 to 2015, leading them to the AFCON title before joining French Ligue 1 club Lille immediately after the final.
Renard is a two-time AFCON winner, having also led Zambia to their historic win in 2012. The 57-year-old has also managed Morocco, Tunisia – in a last-minute call-up at World Cup 2026 – and Saudi Arabia, who he famously led to victory against Argentina in their group-stage match at Qatar 2022.
Advertisement
Who are the star names in the Ivory Coast side?
Although not blessed with the superstar-level talents like Didier Drogba from their 2015 victory, Ivory Coast are still a force to be reckoned with.
Yan Diomande is the shining light of African football following his $161m move to Spanish giants Real Madrid from RB Leipzig in Germany.
Former Barcelona midfielder, now with Atalanta in Italy’s Serie A, Franck Kessie is arguably the next biggest name in the current side.
Former Arsenal forward, Nicolas Pepe is resurrecting his career at Villarreal in Spain after a failed $92m transfer to the Gunners from French club Lille.
Ibrahim Sangare has been a standout performer in the English Premier League with Nottingham Forest, while Amad Diallo of Manchester United is the starlet of Ivory Coast football.
What is Ivory Coast’s AFCON record?
The Elephants are three-time AFCON winners and beat Ghana on penalties in the 1992 final for their first continental crown.
Renard’s 2015 victory also saw Ghana defeated, and once again it was by penalties.
Their most recent win came at the 2023 edition when they defeated Nigeria 2-1 on home soil.
What are the expectations on Ghana’s AFCON campaign?
Ghana, like Ivory Coast, were also eliminated at the round of 32 at the World Cup 2026 as they lost 1-0 to Colombia.
The Black Stars also lost their final group stage match to Croatia, but achieved a respectable 0-0 draw with eventual semifinalists England, while beating Panama to secure their progress to the knockouts.
Led by former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz, Ghana will also have their sights set on the final of AFCON 2027.
Queiroz, who rose to prominence as assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, has the record of Iran’s longest-serving manager with a run between 2011 and 2019. The Portuguese also returned to manage the side at Qatar 2022.
Alongside his two-year stint as Real manager, the 73-year-old has also managed South Africa, Egypt, Colombia, Qatar and his native Portugal.
With his wealth of experience, the West Africans will hope to rise from a nation that failed to reach the last AFCON – finishing bottom of their qualifying group – to winners of the 2027 edition.
Who are the star names in the Ghana side?
Where Ivory Coast have more strength across the board, Ghana have a longer list of star attractions.
Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo is undoubtedly Ghana’s key player, but is ably assisted in attack by Mohammed Kudus, who made his name in the English Premier League with West Ham before a big-money move to Tottenham.
Advertisement
Jordan Ayew is a long-established spearhead of attacks in European football, as well as for Ghana, for whom he remains the national team captain.
Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is still a pivotal player for his new club Villarreal, while Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams remains one of the hottest talents in La Liga, with a host of top clubs across Europe vying for his signature.
What is Ghana’s AFCON record?
Ghana are four-time winners of AFCON, but have not lifted the trophy since 1982.
Alongside their 1992 and 2015 defeats by Ivory Coast, they lost the 2010 edition to Egypt.
What happened the last time Ivory Coast played Ghana?
The last meeting between the sides came in a friendly in 2021 and, much like the 2015 AFCON final, it ended in a 0-0 draw.
The previous competitive meeting between the sides saw Ivory Coast win 3-1 in their round-of-16 match at AFCON 2010.
Head-to-head
This will be the 38th meeting between the border-sharing nations, with Ghana winning 15 of the encounters and Ivory Coast winning 10.
Ivory Coast team news
Diallo is the prominent absentee from the match for Ivory Coast as the forward recovers from injury.
Evann Guessand and Omar Diakite are notable omissions from Renard’s 25-man squad selection.
Ivory Coast predicted starting lineup
Fofana; Doue, Koussounou, O Diomande, Konan; Kessie, Sangare, Inao; Pepe, Bonny, Y Diomande
Ghana team news
Injuries have stripped the Ghana squad of a number of their leading names, including their captain Ayew.
The losses of Semenyo and Kudus are even greater blows, the latter having missed the 2026 World Cup with a hamstring injury.
Ghana predicted starting lineup
Asare; Oppong, Adjetey, Opoku, Mensah; Yirenkyi, Sibo, Donkor; Issahaku, Thomas-Asante, Nuamah
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: aljazeera.com
