Ivory Coast name Bonny, Wahi in World Cup squad after nationality switch

May 15 : Ivory Coast included uncapped striker Ange-Yoan Bonny, who only last week completed a switch of nationality, in their World Cup squad, which coach Emerse Fae announced on Friday.

The 22-year-old Inter Milan forward was joined by fellow forward Elye Wahi, who made a similar change earlier this year and won a first cap for the Ivorians in their last game when they beat Scotland 1-0 in Liverpool at the end of March.

Bonny and Wahi, 23, were previously capped by France at under-21 level.

There was also a recall for Nicolas Pepe, omitted from the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco at the turn of the year, where the Ivorians were defending their title but went out at the quarter-final stage.

The 30-year-old French-born former Arsenal forward, who scored eight La Liga goals for Villarreal this season, sparked controversy for comments made in a YouTube video about Morocco’s past poor record at the Cup of Nations.

He later apologised but said, as a result, he had been subjected to racial abuse online and accused the Ivorian federation of not supporting him.

There was no place in the squad for Sebastien Haller, who was the hero when they won the Cup of Nations on home soil in 2024, or former England international Wilfried Zaha.

Ivory Coast are in Group E, where they will play Ecuador, Germany and Curacao in their opening round fixtures.

Bonny could make his debut before the tournament when the Ivorians face France in Lens on June 4 in a pre-World Cup friendly.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana (Rizespor), Mohamed Kone (Charleroi), Alban Lafont (Panathinaikos)

Defenders: Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Clement Akpa (AJ Auxerre), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting), Guela Doue (Racing Strasbourg), Ghislain Konan (Gil