Today's Talking Points
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1Ivory Coast are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions — they won it on home soil in 2024 in dramatic fashion, coming back from the brink of elimination to lift the trophy in front of their own fans. Dramatic is something of a theme with this team.
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2Sébastien Haller is their main striker. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022, returned to professional football, and scored the winning goal in the AFCON final. That's the whole story. Nothing else needs adding.
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3They're in Group E with Germany, Curaçao and Ecuador. Germany are favourites to top the group, but Ivory Coast are the strongest African side at this tournament and capable of causing real problems.
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4Ivory Coast's history includes a golden generation built around Drogba and the Touré brothers. This team is different in style but carries the same physical power and confidence. The pedigree is there even if the names have changed.
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5Several of their best players were born in France or developed through French football. If they meet France in the knockouts — which is possible — that creates a very interesting dynamic worth mentioning for the narrative value alone.
🍺 Top Thing To Say Down The Pub
Sébastien Haller scored the AFCON final winner less than two years after a cancer diagnosis. If you need one feel-good story at this tournament, that's it.
🚫 Avoid Saying
"Ivory Coast aren't as good as they used to be" — they just won the Africa Cup of Nations. They're still very good, just in a different way to the Drogba era.