TORONTO — Ask Ivory Coast soccer coach Emerse Fae about Canada and he is quick to praise — and reel off names.
"I like this team because the Canada team has very good players — good players like Jonathan David, like (Cyle) Larin, a good striker. Alphonso Davies, (Derek) Cornelius, (Moise) Bombito from Nice. (Ismael) Kone from Rennes," Fae said from France. "So it will be a good team with good organization, a good attacking team. A good challenge for Ivory Coast to play and to see how the team is one year before the World Cup."
Fae is bringing firepower of his own to the inaugural Canadian Shield Tournament, where the 41st-ranked Ivorians face No. 86 New Zealand on Saturday after No. 30 Canada plays No. 25 Ukraine in the early game at Toronto's BMO Field.
Ivory Coast and Canada, which will be without the injured Davies, then meet June 10 after New Zealand plays Ukraine.
Canada has never faced Ivory Coast before and has played Ukraine just once, a 2-2 draw in Kyiv in an October 2010 friendly.
The Ivory Coast roster draws on players from clubs in Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Fae's squad includes winger Amad Diallo, who joined Manchester United in January 2021 at the age of 18 in a package worth 37.2 million pounds ($69 million) from Italy's Atalanta. 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.
Diallo made headlines recently after a photo showing him apparently making an obscene gesture to fans during a Manchester United tour to Asia. He later said he was reacting to "insulting words directed at my mother."
At 5-0-1, the Ivorians lead their 2026 World Cup qualifying group by one point over Gabon (5-1-0). Group F also includes Burundi, Kenya, Gambia and the Seychelles.
The group winner qualifies for the World Cup with the runner-up moving to the second round of qualifying.
"I'm happy with the way that we are winning," said Fae. "Even if I expect more quality from the team. Because we have many good players who play in the best clubs in Europe … Even when we didn't play well, we won. It's a good thing to be able to win the game, but we have to improve the way we play."
After Toronto, Ivory Coast plays its four remaining World Cup qualifiers — against No. 140 Burundi, No. 79 Gabon, the 203rd-ranked Seychelles and No. 111 Kenya — in September-October. The team then shifts its focus to defending its African Cup of Nations title in December in Morocco, where Ivory Coast has been drawn with No. 50 Cameroon, Gabon and No. 96 Mozambique in Group F.
The Ivorians posted a pair of 1-0 wins in March, defeating No. 126 Gambia and Burundi in World Cup qualifying play.
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.
Fae expects Ivory Coast to build on it 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title by qualifying for the World Cup while also pointing to the expanded 48-team FIFA field.
Nine African teams take part in the 2026 soccer showcase, with a shot at a 10th side via the FIFA Playoff Tournament.
"It would be a shame for our country not to be qualifying for the next World Cup," said Fae.
Football is huge back home, so there is pressure to succeed. Fae also knows that winning will help more Ivory Coast players earn contracts to further their development abroad.
Ivory Coast is ranked fifth in Africa, behind No. 12 Morocco, No. 19 Senegal, No. 32 Egypt and No. 36 Algeria — after jumping five places in the latest FIFA numbers. It reached No. 12 in early 2013.
Born in Nantes, Fae was a French youth international and won the Under-17 World Championship in 2001 — beating Nigeria in the final.
He played for his hometown club before switching his international allegiance to Ivory Coast, the land of his parents, in 2005. He went on to play for Reading, then in England's Premier League, and Nice before he retiring in 2012.
Fae coached Nice's youth teams and the reserve side of French Ligue 1 club Clermont before being appointed as Jean-Louis Gasset's assistant with Ivory Coast in May 2022. Gasset was fired midway through the 2023 Africa Cup, after a record 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, with Fae named interim head coach.
The Ivorians advanced as the last of the four best third-placed teams and Fae rallied the team to wins over defending champion Senegal, Mali, DR Congo and Nigeria, in the final. That earned Fae Confederation of African Football (CAF) Coach of the Year honours in 2024.
Fae was given the permanent coaching job in February 2024. The trip to World Cup co-host Canada marks his first visit to the country.
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Ivory Coast
Goalkeepers: Yahia Fofana, Angers (France); Mohamed Koné, Charleroi (Belgium); Badra Ali Sangaré, Sekhukhune United (South Africa).
Defenders: Clément Akpa, Auxerre (France); Jean-Phillipe Gbamin, Zurich (Switzerland); Cédric Kipré, Rems (France); Ghislain Konan, Burgos CF (Spain); Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta, Italy, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, Germany); Christopher Opéri, Başakşehir (Turkey); Wilfried Singo, Monaco (France); Luck Zogbé (Brest), France.
Midfielders: Lazare Amani, Standard Liège (on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium); Mohamed Diomande, Rangers (Scotland); Maho Dorgeles, FC Nordsjælland (Denmark); Franck Kessié, Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia); Parfait Guiagon; Charleroi (Belgium); Ibrahim Sangaré, Nottingham Forest (England).
Forwards: Simon Adingra, Brighton & Hove Albion (England); Jérémie Boga, Nice (France); Amad Diallo, Manchester United (England); Evann Guessand, Nice (France); Sébastien Haller, Utrecht (the Netherlands); Nicolas Pépé, Villarreal (Spain).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
