The final edition of our Get German Football News “Bundesliga at AFCON” preview sections will take a look at the nation that – from a German perspective at least – is the most significant team in the tournament: Cote d’Ivoire. Salut to our 2026 World Cup group-mates! To that one might add, a very happy anniversary as well! This summer will mark the 20 years since Cote d’Ivoire qualified for its very first World Cup. Didier Drogba’s “Elephants” made for a most welcome addition to the 2006 Germany-hosted “Sommermärchen”. A very special relationship between the two countries was cemented that summer.
Cote d’Ivoire: “Les Elephants”
When speaking of Cote d’Ivoire, one also has to mention the dramatic shootout victory that enabled them to capture the 2015 AFCON. Drogba’s famous video of his family watching the final seconds of that insane nine-round-rollercoaster remains – in the opinion of the author – the absolute best thing that has ever been shared on the internet. It really appeared that nothing would ever top the drama of that AFCON….until we got the 2023 Ivorian hosted insanity. Wow. Bravo. Even if there was some corruption involved in getting the hosts out of the group phase by the skin of their teeth, the author isn’t sure that he cares.
The “2023 Storybook” may not be repeated for many years to come. In point of fact, it’s questionable that those of us advancing in years may ever experience a major international tournament on that level for the rest of our lives. Germans truly found it special to watch then Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller (who deliberately decided to grow his hair out from the moment he finished his last chemotherapy treatment) lead his country back from the brink of elimination to glory. Multiple inspiring “comeback stories” stacked atop one another. Simply the “best of the best”
Apropos, the “best of the best”, this year’s Ivorian team features two of the most exciting and intriguing professionals currently plying their trade in the German top flight. One genuinely can’t wait to watch this team in action here, particularly after the great World Cup qualifying campaign. So many interesting storylines brewing ahead of our slated meeting this summer. Kickoff can’t get here soon enough!
Notes on Ivorian Football in Germany
Haller – having moved on from Germany this summer – unfortunately won’t be around this time as he had to withdraw with injury. Germans will get a chance to check in on old friends Evan N’dicka (Eintracht) and Odilon Kossounou (Leverkusen). Historically speaking, there’s plenty of Bundesliga veterans from the glory days of this program.
After 2006, two more consecutive World Cup qualifications and six consecutive AFCONs in which they at least made the quarterfinals were accomplished in part with the help of Bundesliga regulars such as Arthur Boka, Guy Demel, and Didier Ya Konan. Hertha BSC’s Saloman Kalou was among the heroes who converted for the team in the 2015 shoot-out.
Kalou’s time in German football unfortunately came to a rather ignominious end when the Hertha professional posted a video in which he blatantly disregarded COVID regulations at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. We retain much fonder memories of Bundesliga mainstays such as Boubacar Sanogo, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and Constant Djakpa.
Bundesliga AFCON Representatives, Cote d’Ivoire
Yan Diomande, RB Leipzig
When Leipzig initially opted to invest €20m in a teenage talent valued at only €1.5m, there were plenty of skeptics within German footballing circles. Diomande’s strong training camp did much to silence these detractors. By the time October rolled around, Diomande still hadn’t gotten his name on a Bundesliga scoresheet, but demonstrated flashes of brilliance in his three league starts for Ole Werner’s RB. Diomande began attracting significant attention and Transfermarkt opted to raise his estimated market worth to the €20m the German Red Bulls paid for him.
Over the past two months, the Abidjan-native has been on absolute fire. After striking twice for country during the October break, Diomande engineered a run of three consecutive league fixtures in which he scored a goal. In a 6-0 defeat of Augsburg at the end of October, he pocketed two assists. In another 6-0 defeat of Frankfurt, Diomande became the second youngest ever Bundesliga player to record a hat trick. Beyond the stats, the sheer variety in which Diomande has scored his goals illustrated what a well rounded talent he is.
In the historic hat trick match, Diomande followed up the play adroitly to push in his first goal. The next two tallies came via a beautiful long range curler and a brutally efficient finish for a seemingly impossible angle. It’s no wonder that the latest market value update lists him as a €45m-valued player and that his Bundesliga club considers him worth €100m or more. Having already trained at football academies all over the world despite his young age, Diomande appears to have picked up something from everywhere and applied it to his game.
A true “footballing freak of nature”, this one.
Bazoumana Touré, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Touré – who happens to be the same age as Touré – may well start opposite his Bundesliga colleague on the left-hand-side of the Ivorian XI. This certainly counts as a development worth keeping an eye on. Germans curious to scout their World Cup group-mates should definitely fear the possibility of these two players working on the same attacking axis. Touré’s style happens to be much more technical than Diomande. Whereas the Leipzig man touches forward without a care for risk (and sometimes does lose the ball often) Touré usually shields the ball and works more cautiously.
Touré’s work in German football (he arrived in the January 2025 transfer window and has been in the Bundesliga six months longer) intrigues in a very different way. The manner in which TSG head coach Christian Ilzer uses him remains very unconventional. Touré’s pace often leads to him works a very wide berth in Ilzer’s 4-2-2-2 and 4-1-4-1 tactical constructs. It’s very odd to figure out what Touré is supposed to be serving as. A winger? An eight? A ten? It’s all sort of (potently) murky.
In any event, it works. Known as one of the strongest and most effective sprinters in the league, Touré started all 14 Bundesliga fixtures for which he was eligible. Along the way, he’s scored two goals and pocketed six assists. When he first arrived in Kraichgau last winter, there was a certain rawness to his play. Impressively enough, however, Touré was able to master the learning curve of ball control remarkably fast. He picked up three high quality assists in crucial league wins last spring.
Another massive talent!
