Côte d’Ivoire have named their starting eleven for their FIFA World Cup 2026 fixture against Curaçao, a matchup that puts one of Africa’s most recognizable football nations up against a side making its first-ever appearance at the tournament.

## Two very different journeys to the same stage

Côte d’Ivoire’s World Cup history began in 2006, when the Elephants made their debut in Germany. They followed that up with appearances in South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014, building a reputation as one of the continent’s most formidable sides during a golden generation that included some of the world’s best players.

Curaçao, by contrast, is here entirely because of FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams for the 2026 edition. The island nation, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the southern Caribbean, has been building its footballing infrastructure steadily. The expanded format, co-hosted across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, was always going to produce matchups like this one.

Matchday 15 of the tournament is when this fixture is slotted.

## Context and what to watch

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition under the expanded 48-team structure, and it is taking place across three host nations simultaneously: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Curaçao’s players, many of whom ply their trade in European leagues given the Dutch connection running through the island’s football culture, will not be overawed in the way that some might assume. They arrived at this tournament through qualification, not sentiment.