2026 World Cup: Ivory Coast star surpasses Sunday Oliseh’s African record

Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh. Photo by IMAGO

Ivory Coast teenage sensation Yan Diomande has continued to make history at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with his impressive performances for the Elephants, Soccernet.ng reports.

The RB Leipzig winger arrived at the tournament as one of Africa’s most exciting young talents to watch, after he enjoyed a breakout campaign in Germany, which also earned him the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award.

The 19-year-old has carried that form to the World Cup, emerging as one of Ivory Coast’s standout performers in their opening two matches.

Diomande won the Man of the Match award in Ivory Coast’s opening 1-0 victory over Ecuador after an impressive outing. However, it was Amad Diallo who scored the decisive goal to earn praise from former Super Eagles star Sam Elijah.

The teenager was also influential in Ivory Coast’s second group-stage match against Germany. Although the Elephants eventually lost the game, Diomande played a key role in their only goal of the encounter.

Soccer Diomande breaks Sunday Oliseh’s record

According to OptaJoe, Yan Diomande has completed 16 dribbles at the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far  – the most by any player after the first two matches of the tournament.

It is also the highest number of successful dribbles by an African player under the age of 20 at a World Cup since records began in 1966.

Diomande now holds the record for the most dribbles completed by an African player across his first two World Cup matches, surpassing the previous mark set by Sunday Oliseh.

The former Super Eagles captain completed eight dribbles in Nigeria’s opening two matches at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Despite operating as a defensive midfielder, he was impressive in their opening games against Bulgaria and Argentina in that tournament and his record had stood for 32 years until Diomande’s emergence.

Soccer Ivory Coast youngster targets more World Cup history against Curacao

Ivory Coast will face World Cup debutants Curacao in their final group-stage match on Thursday night. The Elephants are favourites for the clash and will be aiming for a victory that would confirm their place in the next round of the competition. 

While a draw would be enough for Ivory Coast to progress, they will be eager to secure all three points and send a strong message to their potential Round of 32 opponents.

Diomande will be aiming to challenge the record for the most successful dribbles in a single World Cup match, which is held by Nigerian legend Jay-Jay Okocha, who completed 15 dribbles in Nigeria’s Round of 16 defeat to Italy at the 1994 World Cup.

The 19-year-old could also match Jamal Musiala’s record for the most successful dribbles by a teenager in a single World Cup match, after he completed 12 dribbles for Germany against Costa Rica at the 2022 World Cup.

Ayomide Oguntimehin

Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.

Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master’s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin