Worried, Germany? A written-off World Cup star is on fire

After the emphatic 7-1 win over Curaçao, Germany’s national team face a far tougher test in their second group match. In Côte d’Ivoire, the DFB team will meet a strong opponent that even beat France in a friendly shortly before the World Cup began and has several players capable of causing Germany serious problems. Hardly anyone, in particular, would have expected one of them to be in the mix.

Côte d’Ivoire opened with a deserved 1-0 win over Ecuador. Drawing major attention was their Bundesliga wing duo of Yan Diomande and Bazoumana Touré. After outstanding seasons, the two speedsters are now valued at 40 and 90 million euros respectively.

But the Ivorians are about far more than just their two well-known wide players. Lurking in the shadow of Diomande and Touré is another star who, after difficult years, has impressively rediscovered his old strength — and one most fans will probably recognize as well.

Back to his best in the Yellow Submarine

Because just a few years ago, Nicolas Pépé was one of the hottest properties on the international transfer market. The now 31-year-old made his breakthrough in France’s Ligue 1, where he produced an outstanding 22 goals and 12 assists in the 2018/19 season.

Arsenal took notice of that rapid rise and signed the attacking star soon after for a hefty 80 million euros (source: transfermarkt.de). At the time, he was the most expensive African footballer of all time. But Pépé was never able to justify that enormous fee in north London. After recording 11 goal contributions in each of his first two seasons, a true horror year followed, with just one league goal. 

But why was the former wonderkid never able to find his footing at the Gunners? Just a few weeks ago, Pépé spoke to ‘Flashscore’ about his time at Arsenal. Much of it centered on his relationship with Mikel Arteta. “He is a coach who demands certain things. Sometimes it was a bit difficult for me, because the communication between us didn’t always work very well,” Pépé said. However, he by no means placed the blame solely on Arteta: “That is exactly what I regret most: that I didn’t communicate enough with him.”

📸 CHARLY TRIBALLEAU – AFP or licensors

To give his stalling career fresh momentum, the pacey dribbler returned to familiar surroundings in 2022. But he flopped again at Ligue 1 club OGC Nice and only a few months later joined Trabzonspor in the Turkish Süper Lig on a free transfer. Normally, that is the kind of place where careers begin to wind down. Yet even there, things never really clicked. But instead of taking yet another step downward, he moved on to Spain on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.

There it became clear: Villarreal were exactly what Pépé had been searching for all those years without finding it. After a solid first season, he truly flourished in the campaign just gone: with eight goals and ten assists, he fired the Yellow Submarine to an impressive third-place finish and into the Champions League.

So, just in time for the World Cup, Pépé is in outstanding form. Together with the young breakout stars Diomande and Touré, the reborn forward forms a devastating attack that leaves even Man United star Amad Diallo with only a substitute role. As a classic number nine, Côte d’Ivoire can also rely on Elye Wahi and Inter gem Ange-Yoan Bonny.

Diomande had to fight too

It is a team that knows how to deal with setbacks. A few days ago, breakout star Diomande also revealed in ‘The Players’ Tribune’ that his career was by no means a straightforward rise. Bournemouth had rejected him. And so had “Chelsea, Rangers, Olympiacos, Crystal Palace.” Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise had even come up to him and said: “Yo kid, you’re really good.” Still, nobody signed him.

“Not even the MLS B-teams wanted me. I don’t even know why. They never gave me a reason. The adults handled everything. They offered me all over Europe, but everyone said no,” said Diomande.

He said he had to travel back to Africa and was bitterly disappointed. When Leganés, his team before moving to Leipzig, wanted to sign him weeks later, he cried with joy.

A goal against Germany as the highlight of his career?

Côte d’Ivoire’s sporting quality is impossible to miss. Every single one of the Ivorian attackers has serious pace and therefore poses a potential threat to the German defense. Because if the DFB team has one major weakness, it is clearly their vulnerability on the counter and after losing the ball themselves.

Côte d’Ivoire are aware of that too. It can be assumed the Africans will be waiting for exactly those lapses before bursting into the open spaces at top speed. Striker Pépé in particular should therefore get plenty of opportunities to make his mark and continue his comeback story. Perhaps he will even crown his footballing renaissance with a goal against the four-time world champions. It would fit the trajectory of his past year.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.