Ivory Coast vs Ghana Prediction

Ivory Coast host Ghana on 24 September 2026 at 22:00 in Group C of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké. Hervé Renard returns for his second spell as Ivory Coast head coach, while Carlos Queiroz continues with Ghana. Both teams open their qualifying campaign in a West African encounter where fine margins could decide the outcome.

Form and H2H

Ivory Coast won seven of their last ten home matches, averaging 1.85 goals for and 0.76 against. Ghana's away record tells a different story: one win, two draws, and seven losses in ten, with 0.54 goals scored and 1.59 conceded per game. The teams drew 0-0 in June 2021, their most recent meeting. Before that, they split two matches in October 2015 after a goalless draw in February 2015.

Ivory Coast's World Cup campaign produced five goals across four matches, scoring more than once only against Curaçao. Ghana kept two clean sheets in four World Cup games and conceded just three goals total. Renard has named eight newcomers alongside experienced options including Nicolas Pépé, Franck Kessié and Elye Wahi, though injuries ruled out Amad Diallo, Wilfried Singo and defender Guéla Doué. Mohammed Kudus returns to Ghana's squad after missing the World Cup through injury.

Best bet

Ivory Coast Total under 2.5 goals. The hosts scored no more than once in three of four World Cup matches. Renard's reshaped attack will need time to establish combinations, and Ghana have demonstrated they can defend compactly. At Melbet, 1xBet and 22Bet, Ivory Coast to win trades at 1.59, with the draw at 3.65. The under 2.5 target reflects both Ivory Coast's recent scoring pattern and Ghana's defensive resilience.

Odds to watch

Ivory Coast's home advantage comes with territorial control but not guaranteed goals. At Mostbet, the home win sits at 1.54, the draw at 3.27 and Ghana at 5.7. Ghana's away record is poor, yet their compact defensive shape against England and their World Cup clean sheets suggest they will make Ivory Coast work for clear chances. The gap between Ivory Coast's attacking quality and their recent output makes narrow scorelines the likely outcome.