Hervé Renard uses Cameroon defeat to assess newcomers

Hervé Renard said Côte d’Ivoire’s defeat by Cameroon still served an important purpose, allowing him to assess players who had seen little action since he took charge. The French coach made selection testing the priority during his third match as head coach of the Elephants.

Cameroon won 1-0 at Abidjan’s Ebimpé Olympic Stadium on Saturday in a FIFA-break friendly. Renard began with 11 players who had largely not started either of the team’s two previous games. Emmanuel Agbadou and Ibrahim Sangaré were among the few exceptions, while Cameroon kept much of its regular line-up.

The changed selection left Côte d’Ivoire vulnerable at times, with the team struggling to impose its play and showing imprecision. Renard nevertheless said the match gave him useful information about the level and possible contribution of each player ahead of future fixtures.

The loss did not alter Côte d’Ivoire’s strong start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, in which the Elephants have beaten Ghana and Somalia in their opening two matches. Cameroon has taken four points from games against Comoros and Congo, with one win and one draw. The teams had drawn 1-1 in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations group meeting in Morocco.