Ivory Coast : Ivory Coast have recalled forward Nicolas Pepe to their squad for this month’s World Cup warm-up matches after teenager Yann Diomande was ruled out through injury.
Pepe had been left out of the initial squad for friendlies against South Korea in Milton Keynes on Saturday and Scotland in Liverpool on March 31.
The 30-year-old was also omitted from Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations title defence in Morocco earlier this year, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
The former Arsenal winger, now with Villarreal, has scored five LaLiga goals this season and last played for the Elephants in October.
Pepe later courted controversy with comments in a YouTube video about Morocco’s record at the Cup of Nations. He subsequently apologised, saying he had also been subjected to racial abuse online and had not felt supported by the Ivorian federation.
Ivory Coast have been drawn in Group E for the 2026 World Cup alongside Ecuador, Germany and Curacao.
