AFCON 2025: All you need to know about Ivory Coast
Reigning African champion, Côte d'Ivoire has the ambition to become the first nation on the continent to retain its title since Egypt which followed in 2010 after 2008. The Elephants have an experienced group with 13 champions from Africa, but still rejuvenated with nuggets like Christ Inao Oulaï or Yan Diomandé that bring physical freshness and dynamism. Here is what you need to know about Ivory Coast before the start of hostilities.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
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The country
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Area: 332,462 km2
Population: 31.9 million inhabitants
Official language: French
Inhabitants: Ivorians / Ivoiriennes
Motto: Union, Discipline, Work
Team nickname: The Elephants
Côte d'Ivoire and the AFCON
Titles: 3
Finals: 5
Participations before AFCON 2025: 23
Host Country: 2 (1984, 2023)
Course at the AFCON
1965: 3rd place
1968: 3rd place
1970: 4th
1974: eliminated in the first round
1980: eliminated in the first round
1984: eliminated in the first round
1986: 3rd place
1988: eliminated in the first round
1990: eliminated in the first round
1998: eliminated in the first round
1992: champion
1994: 3rd place
1996: eliminated in the first round
1998: quarter-final
2000: eliminated in the first round
2002: eliminated in the first round
2006: finalist
2008: 4th
2010: quarter final
2012: finalist
2013: quarter final
2015: champion
2017: eliminated in the first round
2019: quarter-final
2021: round of 16
2023: winner
Assessment at the AFCON
106 matches played
48 victories
30 draws
28 defeats
152 goals scored
111 goals conceded
Yan Diomandé arrives in a sparkling form for his first AFCON.
He made his debut with the national team of Côte d'Ivoire only on October 10 in a victory (7-0) against the Seychelles in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Striker that evening, Yan Diomandé never left Emerse Faé’s eleven, as his impact on the field is immense and crushes all competition, notably with Simon Adingra, left out for this edition in Morocco.
Bluffing with vivacity, capable of eliminating his opponent one-on-one, crossing and hitting accuracies, Yan Diomandé is the prototype winger that defenders fear the most. And this is an exceptional asset for the defending champions Ivory Coast.
Having scored 7 goals including a hat-trick recently against Frankfurt (6-0 win over Leipzig) and 4 assists in 16 games, Yan Diomandé will play his first AFCON in Morocco with one certainty, that of being in the starting eleven of Faé. With already 2 goals in just 4 caps, the 19-year-old player has a promising future and should be one of the sensations of this 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Emerse Faé is expected to retain the title of African champion.
A long spell of fine moments for Fae who has miraculously won the last edition on home soil. But not without his low moments to highlight. The elephants lost 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea in their last Group game in 2023 even though they went on to win the competition. Many fans will not want such nerve wrecking moments for the champions this time around.
Also, Ivory Coast has often struggled against the big names, as evidenced by the two matches against Gabon (1-0 and 0-0) in qualifying for the World Cup, or even the recent defeat against Saudi Arabia (0-1) after Australia in June (0-1).