The Ivory Coast national team have been dealt a cruel administrative blow just as the tactical planning for their next World Cup qualifier reaches its...
The Ivory Coast national team have been dealt a cruel administrative blow just as the tactical planning for their next World Cup qualifier reaches its crescendo. Forward Elye Wahi, a player whose raw pace and clinical finishing have made him a vital outlet for the Elephants, has been denied entry into Canada. The news, confirmed by the Ivorian federation to GoalZaza, throws a substantial spanner into the works for manager Jean Louis Gasset.One has to wonder, what on earth happened here In the modern game, where clubs employ armies of travel agents and compliance officers, you would expect a player of Wahi's profile to have his paperwork in order weeks in advance. This is not a last minute dash to a friendly; this is a World Cup fixture. To have your primary attacking threat sitting in a holding pattern at an airport while the rest of the squad trains in a cold Montreal drizzle is amateurish. It reeks of a breakdown in communication between the federation and the Canadian authorities.For Gasset, the immediate concern is not the blame game but the tactical fallout. Wahi offered the team an out ball, a way to bypass a congested midfield by hitting long diagonals into the channels for him to chase. Without that specific threat, the Ivory Coast may have to adopt a more possession based approach, asking the likes of Amad Diallo to tuck inside and create overloads. It forces them to play a different game entirely, one that does not necessarily suit their transitional strengths.The mood in the camp, one imagines, will be one of raw frustration. You do not replace a player of Wahi's specific skill set simply by slotting in another body. The movement, the timing of the run, the confidence in front of goal, these are not plug and play attributes. The Elephants now have to navigate a hostile environment and a cold pitch against a Canadian side that likes to sit in a compact shape. Missing your most potent weapon for a bureaucratic failure is a bitter pill to swallow, and it could well be the difference between three points and a deeply frustrating evening under the lights.
