A new addition for the Ivory Coast Elephants, just a few months before the 2023 AFCON. Former French youth international, Yahia Fofana, has decided to represent the Ivorian national team, as reported by RMC Sport.
Despite not being part of Didier Deschamps’ plans for the French national team, Yahia Fofana chose not to wait indefinitely for a potential call-up that might never come. Also eligible to represent Ivory Coast, the Angers goalkeeper has opted for this path. This is what journalist Fabrice Hawkins from RMC Sport has informed us. With four appearances, including two clean sheets, in Ligue 2 this season, the 23-year-old goalkeeper was convinced by Jean-Louis Gasset’s vision and his coaching staff.
Standing at an imposing height of 1.94 meters and weighing 84 kg, the Paris native is expected to be included in Ivory Coast’s squad for the September international break, featuring a match against Lesotho on September 9th in the 6th round of AFCON qualifiers, followed by a friendly against Mali three days later. According to well-informed sources, Yahia Fofana has already acquired Ivorian citizenship, and the administrative procedures required for the switch of national team are fully finalized.
Yahia Fofana follows in the footsteps of his Ivorian predecessors such as Sébastien Haller from Borussia Dortmund, Jonathan Bamba from Celta Vigo in Spain, and Evan Ndicka from AS Roma in Italy, all of whom went through various age categories of the French national team before eventually opting for Ivory Coast.
Having been trained at Le Havre, where he amassed 41 appearances as a professional, Fofana now puts an end to the debates surrounding the goalkeeper position within the Ivorian team. This role has seen several goalkeepers come and go without any of them convincingly claiming the spot, especially in the absence of Sylvain Gbohouo, who has just returned after a year and a half suspension and aspires to regain his starting position.
