Ivory Coast began their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory against Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday, with Amad striking a 90th-minute winner to mark their return to the competition for the first time since 2014.
Across three previous appearances at the competition, the Ivorians' fabled Golden Generation of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho et al. failed to reach the knockout stages on each occasion, a bitter underachievement for such a talented side.
Even before a ball was kicked this year, it clearly represented their best ever chance of reaching the knockouts, with a multi-talented squad, an encouraging group-stage draw and the expanded tournament reducing the quality of teams while offering more berths in the knockouts representing a golden opportunity to achieve where the previous side failed.
Their opening victory against Ecuador only reinforces this conviction, but beyond the three points, here are seven reasons why we're convinced that this is finally the year when they reach the knockouts.
1. They no longer crumble under pressure
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the Ecuador win wasn't the result itself, but how it was achieved.
Previous Ivorian sides carried an unfortunate tendency to wilt when the stakes were highest, across repeated Africa Cup of Nations heartbreaks, the final shootout meltdown against Zambia in 2012, and the decisive World Cup group game against Greece in 2014 when they let qualification slip through their grasp in the 93rd minute.
Against Ecuador, it could have been a similar story, as the South Americans dominated the first half, pressed aggressively, forced mistakes and twice struck the woodwork. The atmosphere was hostile, with most of the supporters in Philadelphia a sea of yellow, backing Ecuador.
Yet Ivory Coast did not panic. "We looked tense," head coach Emerse Far acknowledged afterwards. "There was doubt in the team, a little fear when it came to taking risks."
Crucially, they banished those fears during a much improved second half, where "we took more risks, were more focused and made fewer individual mistakes. We didn't concede when they were on top and then found a way to win."
Instead of folding, this team regrouped, adapted, and improved.
2. They are free from emotional baggage
The great Ivorian side of yesteryears carried a burden, as every tournament became another missed opportunity heal old wounds. Gervinho, even when they won AFCON in 2015, famously couldn't look at the play during the shootout, turning his touchline stool towards the crowd, such was the crippling anxiety. The current side carries none of this baggage.
Instead, it's a dream being lived for the first time. "For 26 of our players, this is their first World Cup and their first match at this level," Faé added, but after securing the late victory through Amad, this group will be far stronger for having picked up a maiden win at the competition this early.
3. They still carry the strength forged through AFCON glory
The squad may lack the scars of previous World Cups, but they do carry the experience of having come back from the dead at the AFCON on home soil in 2024. It was a truly extraordinary campaign, as a tournament that should have ended in disaster and after a group stage exit following a 4-0 mauling by Equatorial Guinea, they were written off and had parted ways with head coach Jean-Louis Gasset... only for a remarkable set of results to go their way and see them sneak into the knockouts by virtue of being one of the best third-placed teams. And that ended with the title.
That experience matters. Faé the head coach was forged during that competition, stepping in to replace Gasset as an interim appointment to becoming a leader of genuine authority. He knows - as do several members of this squad - that Ivorians are not to be written off.
4. They have continuity and stability
Too often in the past, Ivory Coast have arrived at tournaments amidst uncertainty. Infamously, in 2010, the late Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed only months before the World Cup, with other coaching changes and shifting tactical approaches frequently disrupting continuity.
Today, we have the opposite. "Spending more than a season and a half with this group as Jean-Louis' assistant allowed me to get my bearings with the national team," Faé acknowledged.
He knows the players, they know him. Tactics are familiar, he's handed several of their international debuts, and has forged a unified group.
"The players are happy, they enjoy being together, and they have a great relationship with the staff," he continued. "This is a group that is growing and developing well."
5. Finally, they have luck
Every successful tournament campaign requires moments when fortune smiles, when decisions go your way. In both 2006 and 2010 they were handed nightmarish group stage draws - Argentina and the Netherlands in 2006, Brazil and Portugal in 2010, when a broken arm for Drogba ahead of the tournament disrupted preparations. At key moments, circumstances conspired against them.
Against Ecuador, fate finally wore orange. The South Americans struck the woodwork twice, prompting expressions of despair from their head coach Sebastián Beccacece.
Ecuador's failure to capitalise opened the door for a late comeback. Franck Kessié's injury comeback before the tournament was another timely boost.
6. A keeper they can trust
While the Ivorian Golden Generation had quality players and depth in every position, goalkeeper was a consistent exception. While Jean-Jacques Tizié and Boubacar Barry were both beloved characters within Ivorian football, neither of them was anywhere near the level of their outfield teammates...and both prone to gaffes.
In Yahia Fofana, they finally have confidence in a keeper they can trust.
His authority against Ecuador was notable, calming the defence, making a fine save, and then coming confidently late on to relieve pressure on his defenders with a valuable claim as Ecuador sought an equaliser.
7. They have momentum
Finally, they are increasingly picking up momentum, which hasn't always been the case. In 2006, they opened with defeat. In 2010, they collected just one point from their first two matches. This time, everything feels different. In March, they defeated South Korea and Scotland, and now, they've followed up their pre-tournament friendly victory over France with Sunday's opening Group E triumph.
"We prepared for this, we came to the United States for this," Faé said after the Ecuador win. "We arrived with ambition and high hopes. We don't want to come here for a visit and then to have to go back.
"For now, everything's going well. We've beaten France, started well against a very tough team in Ecuador, managed to come into our own and won the match."
They have now lost just one - the AFCON quarterfinal against Egypt - of their last ten matches.
Momentum, belief, results is one of football's most desired virtuous cycles; how long can it continue for this on-song side?