Ivory Coast recalls Oumar Diakité after Ange-Yoan Bonny is ruled out
Diakité, left out of the 25-man squad, returns for the Gambia double-header after scoring twice for Sturm Graz on Sunday.
Ivorian striker Oumar Diakité scored twice for Sturm Graz in a 4-3 defeat to Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday, November 8, 2026, in the Austrian league's 12th round. Coach Hervé Renard had left him out of the 25-player squad named three days earlier for the two-legged Gambia qualifiers.
The Ivorian Football Federation said on Monday, November 9, that Ange-Yoan Bonny of Inter Milan is out of the third and fourth qualifying rounds for medical reasons, and that Diakité has been called up in his place. Renard had earlier explained his omission by the level of the Austrian championship, a view the striker's recent scoring has challenged.
The first leg is on Thursday, November 12, at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, with the return on Tuesday, November 17, in Bakau, Gambia. Ivory Coast have two wins from two matches so far, a 2-0 win over Ghana in Bouaké on September 24 and a narrow win over Somalia.
Why it mattersDiakité, a Sturm Graz player on loan from Stade de Reims, has four days to press his case for a starting place before the Bouaké match against The Gambia.