Preview: Somalia vs Ivory Coast - prediction, team news, lineups

Somalia and Ivory Coast will continue their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns on Tuesday as they meet at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The sides got off to contrasting starts last time out, with Somalia suffering a 2-1 defeat to Gambia while Ivory Coast opened with a 2-0 win over Ghana.

Match preview

After being crowned African champions on home soil in 2024, Ivory Coast's bid for back-to-back titles ended in the quarter-finals of the 2026 AFCON with defeat to Egypt, bringing an end to an eight-game unbeaten run in the competition (W7, D1).

Les Elephants then reached the World Cup knockout stage for the first time in four attempts, but that achievement was not enough for Emerse Fae to earn a contract extension after his deal expired in July.

Ivory Coast began their new era under returning manager Herve Renard with a comfortable win over Ghana, opening their AFCON qualifying campaign in style thanks to goals in either half from Malick Yalcouye, who has made a bright start to the 2026-27 season with Brighton & Hove Albion, and Franck Kessie.

Renard, a two-time AFCON winner - including with Ivory Coast in 2015 - will be tasked with delivering another continental title, but the first step is securing qualification for next year’s showpiece in East Africa.

A win over Somalia in their first-ever meeting would keep Ivory Coast top of Group C, though the Elephants have struggled in recent AFCON qualifiers away from home, having lost their last two trips to Sierra Leone and Zambia, both without scoring.

Having exited at the preliminary stage of the 2024 qualifiers, Somalia have already exceeded expectations by reaching the main phase this time around, defeating Mauritius on penalties after a goalless aggregate tie.

Drawn in Group C alongside Gambia, Ivory Coast and Ghana, the last two being multiple-time winners of the tournament, Yusuf Ali’s men are expected to be in for a tough ride, although they did give a decent account of themselves en route to a 2-1 defeat on Friday.

The Ocean Stars are one of five teams seeking a maiden AFCON appearance and will need to claim some major scalps to stand a chance of qualification, starting with Tuesday’s clash against Ivory Coast.

Somalia managed just three goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers, finishing bottom of their group, and that lack of attacking threat remains the biggest area for improvement if they are to compete for an AFCON place.

Due to long-standing security concerns and the absence of a CAF-certified venue, Somalia have been unable to host matches for some time, depriving them of traditional home advantage during qualifying campaigns.

Somalia Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Somalia form (all competitions):

Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:

Ivory Coast form (all competitions):

Team News

Bilal Njie’s consolation goal for Somalia last time out was his fifth in eight matches for club and country, making the forward one to watch.

Abdi Sharif was forced off with an injury in the final knockings of the defeat to Ghana and is a doubt to feature for his nation on Tuesday.

Malik Yalcouye had an international debut to remember as he grabbed a goal and an assist apiece to come away as Ivory Coast’s most influential player.

Kessie’s goal against Ghana was his 16th for Ivory Coast, the most of any active player and just two shy of breaking into the nation’s all-time top 10.

Still awaiting his first cap, Amadou Kone was an unused substitute last time out but will be hoping to feature here.

Somalia possible starting lineup:

Hussein; Othman, Omar, Gigli; Mohamed, Osman, Abdullahi, Abdulle; Hassan, Njie, Abatari

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

Fofana; Zogbe, Diomande, Ndicka, Konan; Sangare, Kessie; Diomande, Yalcouye, Pepe; Bonny

We say: Somalia 0-3 Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast were superb against Ghana and head into the Somalia clash full of confidence. We expect the West Africans to cruise to a comfortable victory.

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