Why Amad Diallo isn't starting for Ivory Coast at the World Cup

Why Amad Diallo isn't starting for Ivory Coast at the World Cup originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

>It seems natural to assume that an attacker from Manchester United would start at the World Cup, right?

>Well, for the Ivory Coast, Amad Diallo is on the bench for their opening match against Ecuador on Sunday.

>It's not a total shock. There was speculation ahead of time that this could happen.

>But to see the team sheet without Amad is still a bit surprising.

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>The good news is that the Ivory Coast has an immense weapon to bring off the bench.

>Diallo will have to just keep the right mindset in the meantime and not mope for missing out on the starting role.

Why isn't Amad Diallo starting?Diallo sits in large part because the Ivory Coast already has a loaded group of attackers.

>This is how they take the pitch on Sunday:

🚨🚨 OFFICIEL ! LA COMPOSITION DE LA CÔTE D’IVOIRE 🇨🇮 POUR AFFRONTER L’ÉQUATEUR ! 🐘

LES ÉLÉPHANTS FONT LEUR ENTRÉE DANS CE MONDIAL 🤩

Il s’agit de l’effectif le plus jeune du tournoi avec une moyenne d’âge de 25,8 ans. 🧒

Allez les Éléphants ! pic.twitter.com/Wm0wOZOp9i

— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) June 14, 2026MORE: Tim Howard commercial disrespects USMNT legend

>Either Toure or Diomande likely would've had to sit for Diallo to start, and that's not the move they made.

>Expect some anticipation around Diallo coming into the game off the bench at some point.

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