TORONTO — Still smarting from its 1-0 loss to No. 86 New Zealand on Saturday at the Canadian Shield Tournament, Ivory Coast has a point to prove Tuesday against Canada.
"We expect to win," said Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae. "A big team can lose one game but a big team doesn't lose two games in a row. We have to show people that we are able to beat countries of another region than Africa.
"It will be a game for us to show that we are able to win."
Canada, ranked 30th in the world, is coming off a 4-2 victory over No. 25 Ukraine in its tournament opener at BMO Field.
Canada coach Jesse Marsch has said he will likely field an entirely different lineup against the 41st-ranked Africans, with veteran forward Cyle Larin leading the team out.
"We've been really clear internally that against Ukraine there were some good thing and some things to work on," Marsch said before Canada's training session Monday. "But that's behind us. And now the focus is entirely on this match."
Marsch said Ivory Coast comes with a lot of talent and could well be the top team in Africa. While Ivory Coast is currently ranked fifth in Africa by FIFA — behind No. 12 Morocco, No. 19 Senegal, No 32 Egypt and No. 36 Algeria — the Elephants are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions and have been ranked as high as No.12 in the world.
Against New Zealand, Ivory Coast paid for a turnover later in the first half that led to the game's lone goal. The African side attacked throughout the second half but could not breach the All Whites defence.
"I was a little but disappointed, a little bit frustrated, because we had opportunities to score, to score first. But we didn't," said Fae.
"We had some opportunities to come back in the game in the second half … If we played the same game 10 times, I think we're going to win nine and probably lose one," he added.
Fae's team was cheered on by a vocal pocket of orange-clad Ivory Coast fans in the stands.
"A defeat on the pitch, certainly, but a resounding victory in the stands, " wrote the Ivorian newspaper Fraternite Matin.
Canada has never faced Ivory Coast before. The last time it faced an African side was at the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022 when it lost 2-1 to Morocco in its final group-stage game.
With regular captain Alphonso Davies out injured, vice-captain Stephen Eustaquio led the team out Saturday against Ukraine. Forward Jonathan David, who scored twice Saturday, will captain the side at the CONCACAF Gold Cup later this month while Eustaquio is with his club Porto at the FIFA Club World Cup.
But with both having played Saturday, Larin wears the armband for the first time.
"It's an honour to (serve as) captain and with the captains we have now, it's an honour to share it with them," said Larin, who plays his club football in Spain for Mallorca. "Because we have a great team."
The 30-year-old from Brampton, Ont., has 30 goals in 81 appearances for Canada. Only Toronto FC midfielder Jonathan Osorio, with 84 caps, has more Canadian experience on the current roster.
Marsch paid tribute to Larin's savvy and insight into the Canadian team as well as his willingness to help younger players.
"Cyle is sometimes thought of as a quiet person and quiet leader, but he's like a rock in the team," Marsch said. "And a guy that is intelligent on the pitch, has quality, can score, does a lot of things that a lot of people don't see and is an example to all of the attacking players we have — for the work rate, the intelligence and the commitment to what we have."
Fae lost one of his star players before the Toronto tournament when Manchester United forward Amad Diallo withdrew.
His squad draws on players from clubs in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Midfielder Franck Kessié, formerly of AC Milan and Barcelona, plays for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro league while defender Odilon Kossounou is currently with Atalanta, on loan from Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, and forward Nicolas Pépé, formerly with England's Arsenal, plays for Spain's Villarreal.
Ivory Coast currently leads Group F in African World Cup qualifying with a 5-0-1 record, one points ahead of Gabon in the six-country group that also includes Burundi, Kenya, Gambia and the Seychelles.
Qualifying play resumes in September with the eventual group winner securing a berth in the World Cup. The four best runners-up from the nine African groups will participate in playoffs to determine a 10th qualifying team from the region.
Ivory Coast appeared at the World Cup in 2006, 2010 and 2014, failing to advance to the knockout round after finishing third in its group each time. It missed out on the 2018 tournament in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
