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 ( ) How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 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. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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