Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae took charge after the group stage of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and ended up lifting the trophy
Ecuador defenders Piero Hincapie and Willian Pacho faced each other in last month's Champions League final
Recommended bet: Draw
Follow every World Cup 2026 score with LiveScore including Ivory Coast vs Ecuador.
Ivory Coast and Ecuador kick off their Group E campaigns in Philadelphia on Monday and both teams will be confident of making an impact at the World Cup.
Ecuador finished as runners-up to world champions Argentina in South American qualifying while a talented Ivorian squad is largely made up of players from Europe's top leagues.
The latest Ivory Coast vs Ecuador odds are available on LiveScore Bet.
Team news
Ivory Coast are expected to be missing Roma centre-back Evan Ndicka (thigh). Elye Wahi, Evan Guessand and Ange-Yoan Bonny are competing to lead the line for the Elephants.
Ecuador's record goalscorer Enner Valencia is a slight doubt but Chelsea's Moises Caicedo should start in central midfield.
The stats
Ivory Coast have won seven of their last nine internationals.
There were over 2.5 goals in five of Ivory Coast's last six games.
Ivorian winger Yan Diomande racked up 12 goals and eight assists in RB Leipzig's Bundesliga campaign.
Ecuador conceded only five goals in 18 World Cup qualifiers.
Four of La Tri's last eight matches have ended 1-1.
Ecuador have drawn 11 of their last 18 internationals.
The latest Ivory Coast vs Ecuador odds are available on LiveScore Bet.
Prediction
Ecuador signed off their successful World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 home win over world champions Argentina in September 2025 and La Tri could be hard to beat at the finals.
Arsenal's Piero Hincapie and Paris Saint-Germain's Willian Pacho were involved in this season's Champions League final and Chelsea's Moises Caicedo is a steely presence in midfield.
However, Ecuador's attacking options are limited and the draw looks the best bet when they face Ivory Coast in Monday's Group E fixture in Philadelphia.
La Tri scored just 14 goals in 18 World Cup qualifiers and, since then, their only friendly victories were against New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Guatemala.
Ecuador have drawn 1-1 with the USA, Mexico, Morocco and the Netherlands in non-competitive fixtures since October, also sharing a goalless stalemate with Canada.
Ivory Coast finished their World Cup preparation in eye-catching style, beating France 2-1 thanks to a late winner from Manchester United's Amad Diallo.
Nicolas Pepe, Yan Diomande and Simon Adingra also pose an attacking threat down the flanks and the midfield will be anchored by captain Franck Kessie and Nottingham Forest's Ibrahim Sangare.
Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2024 but their trophy defence this year ended with a 3-2 quarter-final defeat to Egypt.
However, the Elephants bounced back by beating South Korea 4-0 and Scotland 1-0 in March friendlies and they should be backed to pick up a point in their Group E opener.
A draw would not be a bad opening result for either team as they face World Cup debutants Curacao and Germany in their other two group games.
Score Prediction: Ivory Coast 1-1 Ecuador
Back the draw at 7/4 with LiveScore Bet.
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