Ivory Coast's national team has entered a distinguished list in World Cup history, equalling the achievement of Morocco and Algeria during their encounter with Germany in the second round of the group stage at the 2026 World Cup.
The Elephants succeeded in taking the lead against Germany through a goal scored by Franck Kessié, becoming the fourth African team to go ahead of the German side in a World Cup match.
Ivory Coast were preceded in this feat by Morocco in the 1970 edition, when they led before losing 2-1, and by Algeria at the 1982 World Cup during their historic 2-1 victory over Germany, as well as Ghana, who also took the lead in their 2014 encounter, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Kessié's goal was not merely a collective statistic, as the Ivory Coast midfielder joined a select list of his country's players who have scored against European teams at the World Cup, alongside Bakari Koné against the Netherlands, Bonaventure Kalou and Arouna Dindane against Serbia and Montenegro, and Wilfried Bony against Greece.
With his goal against Germany, Kessié surpassed the record of his compatriot Bonaventure Kalou, becoming the second-oldest scorer for Ivory Coast in World Cup history at the age of 29 years and 183 days.
Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba tops the list, having scored against Brazil at the 2010 World Cup at the age of 32 years and 101 days, while Kalou ranks third at 28 years and 160 days, and Yaya Touré fourth at 27 years and 43 days.
The match between Germany and Ivory Coast ended in a 2-1 victory for Germany, despite a strong start from the Elephants.