Following Ethiopia’s 4-0 destruction of Madagascar on Wednesday, the pressure is as high as it could possibly be for Ivory Coast heading into Friday’s clash at Niger. No longer the leaders in Group K, the Elephants are tied with Madagascar in second place on seven points and need maximum points against last-placed Niger to keep qualification in easy reach. Multiple important players will be missing for manager Patrice Beaumelle as Sebastien Haller, Gervinho and Odilon Kossounou will all be unavailable.
Mondial Sport speculates as to how Beaumelle’s team will look on Friday in terms of personnel and formation. Manchester United’s Eric Bailly will be back to lead the defensive line with Wilfried Zaha counted on to provide the spark in attack. Of course, a necessary mention is Bailly’s club teammate Amad Diallo, who will be looking for his debut Ivorian national team appearance and represents a real X-factor that the Elephants might need to call upon.
