Ivory Coast vs Gambia Tips: Hosts to Edge Group Duel
Back Ivory Coast to beat Gambia. Both teams have six points, but the hosts have kept two clean sheets while Gambia have conceded in both wins.
Ivory Coast vs Gambia. Thursday, 12 November 2026, 21:00 SAST. AFCON Qualifiers. Stade de la Paix, Bouake.
Match comparison
| Team | Recent performance | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | Two 2-0 qualifying wins | No goals conceded |
| Gambia | Beat Somalia 2-1 and Ghana 4-2 | Six goals scored |
Group C's unbeaten sides meet
Ivory Coast beat Ghana and Somalia by the same 2-0 score. Gambia beat Somalia 2-1 before overturning a 2-0 deficit to defeat Ghana 4-2.
Gambia have scored more, but Ivory Coast have done their work without conceding. With both on six points, this is a direct contest for the lead rather than a meeting between a runaway favourite and a struggling visitor.
Gambia's comeback carries a threat
Ebrima Colley has three goals in the qualifying campaign. Musa Barrow and Yankuba Minteh return to give Gambia further attacking options, making this a more demanding defensive test than the opening results might suggest.
The Ghana comeback is the strongest reason to take Gambia seriously. Four goals after falling two behind show they can recover from an adverse position against a major opponent in this group.
Ivory Coast have allowed fewer openings on the scoreboard
Against Somalia, Ivory Coast scored twice and conceded none; Gambia scored twice but allowed one. Against Ghana, the hosts again won without conceding while Gambia needed four goals to recover the match.
Those shared opponents leave Ivory Coast with the stronger defensive results. Home advantage adds to that case, but Gambia's six goals make a clean-sheet prediction less appealing than the straightforward Ivory Coast win.
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