Nicolas Pépé, an Ivorian forward, leaves the Ivory Coast national team camp for family reasons, after being allowed to depart the camp by the Ivory Coast Football Federation, which confirmed the decision and wished his wife happiness. The decision was made in agreement with the technical staff, motivated by strictly family reasons, and Pépé was authorized to join his wife, who is about to give birth. The Ivory Coast Football Federation said: "C’est une décision familiale et personnelle", and also said: "La Fédération Ivoirienne de Football adresse ses vœux de bonheur à Nicolas Pépé et à son épouse et leur souhaite un heureux événement". The Ivory Coast team, sitting second in the World Cup with six points after three games (2W-0D-1L, recent form LWLW), will play Cameroon at home on 2026-10-03 at 20h. Their last result, Ivory Coast 1-2 Norway (2026-06-30), is part of a recent run of three wins, zero draws, two losses in the last five matches. Pépé's departure changes the squad's attacking options ahead of the Cameroon match. fixtures squad stats
The original report is at Foot Mercato
