Côte d'Ivoire: Middle Empire is worried!
Of the six midfielders that Emerse Faé has selected on the list of 26 players for the 2026 World Cup, four are over thirty and have shown the limits of their association. This is cause for concern among the Ivorian public.
Philemon MBALE · Author profile ·
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Côte d'Ivoire will go to the 2026 World Cup with six midfielders: Séri Jean-Michael, Franck Kessié, Sangaré Ibrahim, Séko Fofana, Guiagon Parfait and Inao Christ Oulaï Ravinel. Of these six, two are new: Guiagon (25 years old) and Inao (20 years old). For the other four called, the "four musketeers" or "four senators" according to some supporters, they have been in every fight since 2022. For the past four years, they have been making the weather as rain and sunshine under orange reefer jackets, with varying fortunes for each one, successes but also failures.
The most recent setback was the quarter-final exit from AFCON 2025 in Morocco, against Egypt (3-2). As the World Cup approaches, their presence on Faé’s 26-man list is making a lot of noise. They are criticized for their lack of complementarity, their heaviness, and their inability to reinvent the game.
Age, a real problem?
In club terms, this season, the four experienced midfielders from Côte d'Ivoire did not have the same success. Séko Fofana, 31 years old, played 37 matches in all confined competitions with FC Porto for 4 goals. He won the Portuguese championship. Franck Kessié, 29 years old, was an imperial with Al Ahli Saudi.
He has played 53 matches in all and scored 14 goals for 6 assists. He won the Asian Champions League and the Saudi Arabia Super Cup. For Sangaré Ibrahim and Séri Jean-Michael, the line of stats is less filled. For the 28-year-old Nottigham Forest midfielder, it’s 27 games for 2 goals and 2 assists. As for the one in Maribor, 34 years old, it’s 15 matches for a single assist. Individually, therefore, in a club, everyone has arguments to make, but it is their association with the national team that raises questions.
Many observers of Ivorian football believe that the real problem of the Ivorian national team is the old age of its milieu.
"What is damaging is that Faé is certainly the coach but in his career he was a midfielder, but is he satisfied with this midfield?"
wonders Rash N'Guessan, former head of the Ivorian national radio. He firmly believes that the Ivorian midfield should be refreshed and rejuvenated.
«If we go to the World Cup to visit the White House, there is no problem with this midfield. But if we go for the war, to speak like Faé, we need other players. I would have liked to have four young brothers for two elders who would be there to supervise them. So, we could have Kessié and Ibrahim Sangaré to supervise the young people, or Kessié and Séko Fofana to supervise them. But to have four former players in this midfield, four players who are already knocking on doors in their thirties or who have passed it, I say that’s taking a risk. Will we be able to keep up with the pace set by the Germans when we run into them? The Ecuadorians too? That’s where my question lies.
For me, we should especially, at the midfield level which is our weak link, try to give a little oxygen in order to allow these children to better fuel themselves.” , he growls. He is not alone in this case, but some believe that we must look beyond our age.
The tactical aspect, the real puzzle
«We must send our best wishes to the success and encouragement of our players rather than burning them every time. I agree that we should criticize Faé’s list, it’s normal, it makes sense, but at some point we have to stop calling our players old, it doesn’t honor them.”
deplores Kader Guilavogui, an Ivorian journalist and television consultant.
"Our problem has never been a lack of talent. Our real challenge has always been building a team with automation. With less than a month to go before the biggest competition in the world, against the best nations in the world, we are preparing a team that is certainly talented. But will it be complementary? Balanced? Supportive? Fluid? Will it have collective experience? Yet, it is precisely these ingredients that make great teams unbeatable... or very difficult to maneuver. The Senegalese example is recent to remind us of the respect we owe to football."
asks Babou Eric, a former Ivorian international.
«I have no worries about the midfield. The four leaders, Franck Kessié, Jean-Michael Séri, Ibrahim Sangaré and Séko Fofana, reassure me with their experience that allows them to give more tactical support to the team and manage strong and weak times. If they are in full possession of their physical abilities, they will be very useful in the World Cup. We often mistakenly believe that he is stepping on himself, but it’s up to Faé to work on their complementarity in everything when we evolve into a 4-3-3. In addition, there are Guiagon and Inao who will be like water carriers for the World Cup; it will give a different face and a certain vigor to our game,'
analyses Magloire Diop, journalist and editor-in-chief.
Anyway, Faé has the friendly match on June 4 against France in Nantes to reassure the skeptics and comfort the optimists. Especially with a group where neither the old nor the young have ever competed in a World Cup.