Scorpions Seek Sting In Côte D’ivoire Tonight

The Gambia will be looking to maintain her perfect starts to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign when The Gallant Scorpions meet The Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire at Stade de la Paix in Bouake on this evening.

Both teams have collected six points from their opening two Group C matches, and tonight’s encounter represents the first of two meetings between the sides in five days, with the return fixture scheduled to take place at the Independence Stadium on November 17th

Côte d’Ivoire have made an encouraging start under returning head coach Herve Renard, who began his second spell in charge with two wins from two competitive matches before suffering a friendly defeat to Cameroon.

His return opened with a 2-0 victory over Ghana, with Malick Yalcouye opening the scoring before Franck Kessie converted a second-half penalty, and the Elephants followed that result with another 2-0 win against Somalia, as Bazoumana Toure and Yann Gboho found the net.

The Elephants are yet to concede in the qualifying campaign and will be hoping to maintain that defensive record against The Gambia tonight, having won their last four meetings against The Scorpions while scoring nine goals and conceding none.

Côte d’Ivoire also boast an impressive home record in this fixture, having won all three previous meetings on their own soil, scoring eight goals without conceding.

But while the Elephants have been particularly solid defensively at the start of this campaign, The Gambia’s attacking firepower has been central to their own impressive opening, with the Scorpions scoring six goals across their first two qualifiers.

They began with a 2-1 victory over Somalia before producing an impressive comeback to beat Ghana 4-2 away from home, with Ebrima Colley scoring three goals across the two matches, including a brace against the Black Stars.

The Scorpions will be looking to make it three consecutive victories, a feat they have not achieved in the last five years, with that run predating Johnny McKinstry’s appointment as head coach in June 2024.

However, one concern for the visitors will be their lack of defensive solidity, having failed to keep a clean sheet in their last five matches, although they have managed to score 10 goals during that period.

However, the Elephants will be without Odilon Kossounou and Guela Doué, who are both sidelined through injury, while Wilfried Singo, Simon Adingra, Evann Guessand and Sebastien Haller have not been included in the squad.

The Gambia have been boosted by the returns of Musa Barrow and Yankuba Minteh, who have both recovered from the injuries that kept them out of the September qualifiers.

Alieu Fadera and Adama Sidibeh are unavailable through injury, while James Gomez has not been included in the final squad. Jesper Ceesay and Suleiman Camara have also withdrawn because of injuries, with Saidou Khan and Salieu Drammeh called up as their replacements.

Côte d’Ivoire possible starting line-up:
Fofana; Zogbe, Agbadou, Ndicka, Konan; Kessie, Sangare, Oulai; Diallo, Wahi, Pepe

The Gambia possible starting line-up:
Gaye, O. Colley, J Colley, Sinyan, Bojang, Touray; Adams, Barry, Minteh, E. Colley, Barrow; Badamosi