EXCLUSIVE: Kouassi hails Korea and Scotland tests as ideal World Cup build-up for Ivory Coast

[p]The three-time African champions will make their fourth appearance at the global showpiece and have been drawn in Group E alongside Germany, Ecuador, and debutants Curacao.[/p][p]Ahead of the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, Emerse Fae’s men will face the World Cup-bound opposition in England.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ivory-coast/G2FRjBgn/"]Ivory Coast[/a] take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/son-heung-min/Mgg9oPeM/"]Son Heung-min[/a]’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/south-korea/K6Gs7P6G/"]South Korea[/a] on March 28th in Milton Keynes before meeting Steven Clarke’s Tartan Army four days later in Liverpool.[/p][p]For Kouassi, these matches go beyond results, as they will help expose the squad to the intensity they can expect at the tournament proper.[/p][p]"[b]It is good to see the Elephants playing these kinds of friendlies because they will help the players prepare for the level of intensity they are likely to face at the World Cup[/b]," Kouassi told [b]Flashscore.com.[/b][/p][p]"Germany and Ecuador are strong opponents in our group, and these games will give us a clearer insight into what to expect from them. [/p][p]"[b]For the coaches, it will provide a valuable opportunity to assess the squad and identify areas that still need improvement[/b].[/p][p]"[b]It does not really matter whether Emerse and his boys win or lose against South Korea or [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/scotland/fZRU25WH/"]Scotland[/a], what is more important is that they take the lessons from these matches seriously[/b]. [/p][p]"From experience, you often learn more from difficult games like these than from comfortable victories. They (South Korea and Scotland) will surely test every aspect of this team from tactical discipline to mental strength.[/p][p]"[b]Like I have always said, if Ivory Coast want to compete at the highest level, they must adapt to this intensity now, not later[/b]."[/p][embed guid="6f1184fa-737b-4c4f-8356-a85c3ee05bf4" url="https://x.com/FIFCI_tweet/status/2037420451157135459" social-type="twitter" /][p]Ivory Coast’s fixture against South Korea on Saturday will be their first international match since their disappointing 2026 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, where they crashed out in the quarter-final after a 3-2 defeat to Egypt in Agadir.[/p][p]While Villarreal star Nicolas Pepe returns to international duty, former France youth international Elye Wahi and Martial Godo, who has scored 13 Ligue 1 goals this season, will be hoping to make their debuts. [/p][p]Kouassi has been impressed with the depth of quality in the Ivorian squad, believing it will give coach Fae a positive selection headache.[/p][p]"[b]There are so many great talents in this team, and that can only be a good problem for the coach. He will have to carefully consider his options before making his final selection for the World Cup[/b]," he continued.[/p][p]"At this stage, everyone must continue to fight for their position and prove themselves in every opportunity they get. This is what we call healthy competition.[/p][p]"[b]Most importantly, we hope all the players avoid injuries as we get closer to the mundial (World Cup), because having a full-strength squad will be crucial for our ambitions[/b]."[/p][embed guid="5bc9f779-149b-46bd-8251-7a9020aef92f" url="https://x.com/theKFA/status/2037415161523499432" social-type="twitter" /][p]The two teams’ only previous meeting came in March 2010, when the Asian side defeated the Africans 2-0 in a friendly at Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road ground in London, with Lee Dong-gook and Kwak Tae-hwi getting on the scoresheet.[/p][p]Following this fixture, South Korea will travel to Vienna, where they are scheduled to face Austria on Tuesday. They have been drawn in Group A alongside Mexico, South Africa, and a European playoff winner, which will be decided in the coming days.[/p][h2][b]Ivory Coast squad for Korea and Scotland[/b][/h2][p][b]Goalkeepers: [/b]Yahia Fofana (Rizespor, Turkey), Mohamed Kone (Charleroi, Belgium), Alban Lafont (Panathinaikos, Greece)[/p][p][b]Defenders: [/b]Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Clement Akpa (AJ Auxerre, France), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal), Guela Doué (Racing Strasbourg, France), Jean-Ghislain Konan (Gil Vicente, Portugal), Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta, Italy), Evan Ndicka (Roma, Italy), Wilfred Singo (Galatasaray)[/p][p][b]Midfielders: [/b]Seko Fofana (Stade Rennais), Parfait Guiagon (Charleroi, Belgium), Franck Kessie (Al Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Christ Oulai (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest, England), Jean-Michael Seri (NK Maribor, Slovenia)[/p][p][b]Forwards:[/b] Simon Adingra (Monaco, France), Amad Diallo (Manchester United, England), Yvan Diomande (RB Leipzig, Germany), Martial Godo (Racing Strasbourg, France), Evann Guessand (Aston Villa, England), Bazoumana Toure (Hoffenheim, Germany), Benie Traoré (Basel, Switzerland), Elye Wahi (Nice, France).[/p][image alt="Shina Oludare" id="77f4edee-493b-45e2-b24b-0d9a1e05766a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="09f6a29f-0639-40eb-abcf-6ef04a6818dc" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]