Ivory Coast's midfielder #08 Franck Kessie, Ivory Coast's defender #07 Odilon Kossounou, Ivory Coast's midfielder #18 Ibrahim Sangare, Ivory Coast's defender #21 Evan Ndicka, Ivory Coast's forward #22 Evann Guessand, Ivory Coast's goalkeeper #01 Yahia Fofana and Ivory Coast's defender #17 Guela Doue, Ivory Coast's midfielder #19 Christ Inao Oulai, Ivory Coast's forward #15 Amad Diallo, Ivory Coast's forward #26 Yan Diomande and Ivory Coast's defender #03 Ghislain Konan line up for a team photo. Getty
With their World Cup elimination by Norway well behind them, Ivory Coast open their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Thursday, when they takes on Ghana with Real Madrid 's Yan Diomande leading the Elephants' attack in Bouaké.
Ghana arrive without captain Jordan Ayew , Manchester City 's Antoine Semenyo or Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus as the four-time champions try to rebound from missing the last AFCON.
Kickoff at Stade de la Paix is 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. BST in the UK. Algeria 's Mustapha Ghorbal will referee, according to 3News.
U.S. viewers can watch the match live on beIN SPORTS at 3 p.m. EDT, noon PDT. Streaming runs through beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Fubo, Sling and Fanatiz, according to Live Soccer TV broadcast listings.
Canal+ Sport 2 Afrique has the game across most of West and Central Africa. Ivorians also get RTI and RTI La 3, while GTV Sports+ carries it in Ghana. North African audiences get beIN Sports HD 7, beIN SPORTS CONNECT and TOD.
No British broadcaster has been listed for the AFCON qualifying opener. UK fans can follow Al Jazeera's live build-up from 5 p.m. BST, then its text commentary.
IVORY COAST — PREDICTED XI (4-3-3)
#
Player
Pos
Role
2
Guéla Doué
RB
Right-back
6
Franck Kessié
CM
Central midfield
7
Ibrahim Sangaré
DM/CM
Defensive / central midfield
8
Christ Inao Oulai
CM
Central midfield
10
Ange-Yoan Bonny
ST
Centre-forward
11
Yan Diomande
LW
Left wing
Predicted lineup, 4-3-3 formation.
Diomande moved from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid in August for a reported $161 million . He is expected to lead the line in Hervé Renard's first competitive match back in charge. Renard, who won the 2015 title with the Elephants, replaced Emerse Faé after Norway eliminated Ivory Coast in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.
Forward Amad Diallo is out injured. Captain Franck Kessié, now with Atalanta in Italy 's Serie A, is set to start in midfield.
"When you play Ghana, it's a derby. Ghana are also a great African nation with very good players," Kessié said, according to 3News .
For Ghana, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Ernest Nuamah are the likeliest attacking threats, with Brandon Thomas-Asante through the middle in Carlos Queiroz's projected lineup, according to Sports Mole . The Sports Mole prediction? Ivory Coast wins, 2-0.
Ghana finished last in their 2025 qualifying group behind Angola, Sudan and Niger, winless in six matches.
Group C also includes The Gambia and Somalia. Each team plays six games, and the top two qualify for the finals in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, June 19 to July 17, 2027, according to a beIN SPORTS format explainer . Qualifying wraps up in March 2027.
GHANA — PREDICTED XI (4-3-3)
#
Player
Pos
Role
1
Benjamin Asare
GK
Goalkeeper
3
Jonas Adjetey
CB
Centre-back
9
Abdul Fatawu Issahaku
RW
Right wing
10
Brandon Thomas-Asante
ST
Centre-forward
11
Ernest Nuamah
LW
Left wing
Predicted lineup, 4-3-3 formation.
Ghana won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1963, 1965, 1978 and 1982. Ivory Coast won in 1992, 2015 and 2023. Both 1992 and 2015 finals ended with Ivory Coast beating Ghana on penalties. The 2023 title came on home soil with a 2-1 final win over Nigeria .
Ghana hold a 15-10 edge in the all-time series, and Thursday marks the 38th meeting.
The AFCON tournament itself dates to February 1957 in Khartoum, Sudan, where Egypt won a three-team event. It turned biennial in 1968, shifted to odd years in 2013 and expanded to 24 teams in 2019. Egypt owns a record seven titles, Cameroon five, according to a Sports Mole history .
That two-year rhythm is ending. CAF president Patrice Motsepe announced in December 2025 that the tournament moves to a four-year cycle after the 2027 finals.
Next up, on Sept. 29, Ghana host The Gambia in Accra, and Ivory Coast visits Somalia.
GettyIvory Coast's midfielder #08 Franck Kessie, Ivory Coast's defender #07 Odilon Kossounou, Ivory Coast's midfielder #18 Ibrahim Sangare, Ivory Coast's defender #21 Evan Ndicka, Ivory Coast's forward #22 Evann Guessand, Ivory Coast's goalkeeper #01 Yahia Fofana and Ivory Coast's defender #17 Guela Doue, Ivory Coast's midfielder #19 Christ Inao Oulai, Ivory Coast's forward #15 Amad Diallo, Ivory Coast's forward #26 Yan Diomande and Ivory Coast's defender #03 Ghislain Konan line up for a team photo.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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