Ivory Coast will face Uruguay in an international friendly at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Tuesday, looking to pick up a first win after their Africa Cup of Nations triumph.
Both sides head into this game on the back of draws with Benin and Basque Country, respectively.
Match preview
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Barely a month after winning the Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, Ivory Coast took to the pitch again but could not secure more than a 2-2 draw against Benin at Stade de la Licorne on Saturday.
Junior Olaitan bagged a brace for the Cheetahs, scoring in each half, but the Elephants rallied back after conceding each goal, with Max Gradel finding the net in his farewell match to restore parity in the first half before Oumar Diakite did the same for the second goal.
It was a fairytale run for Ivory Coast at the Cup of Nations, as they survived group stage defeats to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea to advance into the knockout stage courtesy of other results favouring them.
However, after firing Jean-Louis Gasset and hiring Emerse Fae on an interim basis, the Elephants looked like a different side in the knockout rounds, going all the way to lift their third AFCON trophy.
Fae has since been employed on a permanent basis and his next assignment will be helping the country to their fourth FIFA World Cup, building on the wins over Seychelles and Gambia in the first two games of the qualifying series when they face Gabon and Kenya in June.
However, before that they will have to face Uruguay on Tuesday for the first time in history, a game where Fae will need a positive result to increase the faith they have in him, after failing to beat Benin on Friday.
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Uruguay, meanwhile, have stretched their unbeaten run to five matches after impressively overcoming Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia in their last three qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. This run is bookended by a 2-2 draw with Colombia and a 1-1 stalemate against the Basque Country last time out.
Alvaro Djalo netted the opening goal for the Basques before Matias Vecino quickly equalised to earn the Charruas a draw.
Marcelo Bielsa's side sit second behind Argentina in their qualification group for the next FIFA World Cup. However, their focus is now firmly on this summer's Copa America, with friendlies against Ivory Coast and Mexico still to come before the competition kicks off at the end of June.
Uruguay will face Panama, Bolivia and the United States in Group C at the 2024 Copa America, a tournament they have won a record 15 times, making them joint-most successful alongside the current holders Argentina.
The Sky Blues last lifted the Copa America in 2011, but have failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals since then, even crashing out at the group stage in 2016.
Nonetheless, their form over the past year has been impressive, winning seven of their last 10 matches in all competitions and only losing once, a narrow 2-1 defeat to Ecuador last September.
Team News
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AFCON final hero, Sebastien Haller, is sidelined with an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out until early April.
Right-back Serge Aurier also has a back injury that rules him out until next month, while Christian Kouame has not been included in the squad.
Gradel has played his final game for Ivory Coast against Benin and will not be included in the lineup for this game.
Liverpool's Darwin Nunez had to pull out of the friendly matches due to a hamstring problem, while Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez is also injured.
Barcelona's Ronald Araujo and Real Madrid's Federico Valverde are also absent, leaving Bielsa with a weakened team.
Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:
Fofana; Singo, Boly, Diomande, Ismael; Seri, Kessie; Pepe, Boga, Adingra, Krasso
Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Mele; Varela, Mendez, Marichal, Olaza; Ugarte, Zalazar, Vecino; Canobbio, Torres, L. Rodriguez
We say: Ivory Coast 2-1 Uruguay
Uruguay will head into this game without most of their big stars, reducing their chances of getting a win here. We think Ivory Coast will present a side with better quality for this affair and they have a coach with more to prove in this game.
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