Malick Yalcouyé is in the spotlight after he was called up by the Ivory Coast U20 national side for the U20 AFCON warm up games. The Brighton loanee is also in contention for the Mali national side in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying games.
Les Aigles are yet to name their 2026 World Cup qualifying squad for the March fixtures but many sources in Mali suggested Yalcouyé is expected to be included by head coach Tom Saintfiet for the matches against Comoros and Central African Republic.
The 19-year-old has scored four Austrian Bundesliga goals for Sturm Graz and was a top performer for them in the UEFA Champions League. He is a graduate of Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas youth team. Ivory Coast hoped his connection to ASEC would push Yalcouyé towards them. Nevertheless, Yalcouye is not expected to say no to Mali if they call him up for the March qualifiers.
Ivory Coast lost out on MC Alger midfielder Mohamed Zougrana to Burkina Faso earlier this month. Yalcouyé could be the second one if he decides to represent his country of birth, Mali.
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