The Ivory Coast national football team, known as "The Elephants," represents Ivory Coast in men's international football. Managed by the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF), the team's home colors are all orange. Since 2020, their home games have been played at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, before which their home ground was Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, also in Abidjan.
Ivory Coast has a rich history in African football, marked by periods of success and challenges. The team made their first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1961.
Kenya, on the other hand, has been striving to make its mark on the international stage, with matches against strong teams like the Ivory Coast serving as crucial tests of their progress.
Historical Performance
Ivory Coast's performances in the 1970s were mixed. In the 1970 African Cup of Nations, the team finished top of their group but lost to Ghana in the semi-finals and finished 4th after losing the third-place play-off to the United Arab Republic (now Egypt). They failed to qualify for the 1972 edition and finished bottom of their group in 1974 with only a single point. After missing the 1976 tournament, the team initially qualified for 1978 but were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player in the second leg.
In 1984, the team hosted the African Cup of Nations for the first time but failed to get out of their group. At the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast beat Algeria 3-0 and drew 0-0 with Congo to finish top of their group. An extra-time victory over Zambia and a penalty shoot-out win over Cameroon took them to the final for the first time, where they faced Ghana. The match went to a penalty shoot-out, which became the highest-scoring in international football at the time; Ivory Coast eventually triumphed 11-10 to win the title for the first time.
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World Cup Qualification and Recent Encounters
In October 2005, Ivory Coast secured qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their first-ever appearance at the tournament. They also qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and made a third appearance in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Ivory Coast failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
One notable match between Ivory Coast and Kenya is scheduled for Tue, Oct 14, 2025, 19:00 UTC at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara. This match is part of the World Cup Qualification CAF Grp. F.
COTE D'IVOIRE VS KENYA | WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS AFRICA 2026 | FULL EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS
You can check the recent head-to-head encounters, as well as full H2H record on this page to see how Ivory Coast and Kenya have fared against each other in the past. The current head to head record for the teams are Ivory Coast 0 win(s), Kenya 0 win(s), and 1 draw(s).
Team Lineups and Key Players
The predicted lineups for the Ivory Coast vs Kenya match are as follows:
- Ivory Coast (4-4-2): Yahia Fofana - Guéla Doué, Emmanuel Agbadou, Evan N'Dicka, Ghislain Konan - Amad, Franck Kessié, Ibrahim Sangaré, Yan Diomande - Nicolas Pépé, Evann Guessand.
- Kenya (4-2-3-1): Bryne Odhiambo - Daniel Sakari, Alphonce Omija, Collins Sichenje, Sylvester Owino - Timothy Noor Ouma, Manzur Okwaro - Ryan Ogam, Alpha Onyango, William Wilson - Michael Olunga.
Wilfried Singo is unavailable for Ivory Coast due to injury, while Kenya does not have any unavailable players.
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Match Dynamics and Key Moments
During a recent match, Ivory Coast showed relentless attacking pressure, accumulating ten shots on target. Kenyan goalkeeper Byrne Omondi made crucial saves to prevent a lopsided score. Kenya only managed one shot in the entire match, which went wide. The Ivorians maintained control, cornering the Kenyans and preventing them from advancing the ball past the halfway line.
The Ivory Coast continues to steadily approach Kenya's goal, but they fail to extend their lead and are putting Kenya's defense, which isn't the strongest, under pressure.
Recent Developments
In early 2024, Ivory Coast hosted the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time. Following a 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea and third-placed finish in the group stage, coach Jean-Louis Gasset was dismissed, and assistant coach Emerse Faé was hired as caretaker in the knockout stages, as the national team qualified as one of the best third-placed teams.
Supporters of the Elephants are known to be among the most colorful in Africa.
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