Hervé Renard unveiled his first squad since returning as Ivory Coast manager on Wednesday, calling up eight new players. The Elephants, currently second in their World Cup qualifying group with six points, will face Ghana, Cameroon and Somalia during the September international window.
The French coach has initiated a refresh, handing first senior call-ups to Yann Gboho, Malick Yalcouyé, Christ Tapé, Eddy Doué, Patrick Zabi, Amadou Koné, Kassoum Ouattara and Rayan Fofana. This comes after the international retirement of experienced midfielder Seko Fofana. Established stars Nicolas Pépé, Guéla Doué and Yan Diomandé are all included in the 23-man selection.
This squad announcement follows a mixed run of form for Ivory Coast (LWLWW), with their last outing a 1-2 defeat to Norway in late June. Renard's first test will be a key home qualifier against Ghana on September 24th. The full schedule of upcoming matches is on our fixtures page.
These games will serve as preparation before World Cup qualifying resumes, with the Elephants aiming to solidify their second-place standing. The current national team squad can be viewed on our squad page.
The original report is at sports.yahoo.com
