Ivory Coast: Adingra returns, AFCON stars Diomande and Diallo called for friendlies

Ivory Coast national team coach Émerse Faé announced his squad for upcoming friendly matches against South Korea and Scotland on Wednesday.

 

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The Elephants will be in England, where they will face South Korea on March 28 in Milton Keynes before traveling to Liverpool to take on Scotland on March 31.

New and familiar faces in the Ivory Coast camp

Faé did not make too many changes from his 2025 Africa Cup of Nations squad, with younger stars like Yan Diomande, Amad Diallo, Christ Inao Oulaï and Bazoumana Touré called in after good performances in Morocco.

After being left out of the AFCON squad due to limited playing time at Premier League club Sunderland, Simon Adingra is the notable new face. A loan move to French Ligue 1 club Monaco resulted in some strong performances from the speedy winger who was a key player in Ivory Coast’s 2023 AFCON-winning squad.

Another notable inclusion is also based in Ligue 1. Martial Godo will have an opportunity to make his senior Ivory Coast debut in the midst of a breakout season in his club career with Strasbourg. The 23-year-old born in England has seven goals this season.

Versatile defender Wilfried Singo returns to the team after missing out on the AFCON due to injury, joining defensive stars Emmanuel Agbadou and Evan Ndicka in the squad. Midfield veterans Jean Michaël Seri and Franck Kessié will be involved as well as Seko Fofana and Ibrahim Sangaré.

Nicolas Pépé and Wilfried Zaha are exclusions of note, with Pépé not making a return despite decent form at Villarreal following his 2025 AFCON exclusion. Zaha made a surprise return to the team for the finals in Morocco but failed to impress.