Officially.. Hervé Renard coaches Ivory Coast.

The Ivorian Football Federation appointed Frenchman Hervé Renard as the coach of the Ivory Coast national team on Tuesday, succeeding Emerse Faé, announcing this through its official social media accounts.

Renard (57 years old) returns to lead the "Elephants" for the second time, having previously held the position between 2014 and 2015, during which he led them to win the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2015.

Earlier on Tuesday, the newspaper "Le Parisien" revealed that Renard was close to returning to the Ivorian national team.

The French coach takes over from Faé, whose contract was not renewed by the Ivorian federation, despite leading the team to victory in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024 and reaching the Round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup, which is the best achievement in the country's history in the tournament.

Renard temporarily led the Tunisian national team during the 2026 World Cup finals, having taken over during the tournament after a heavy defeat against Sweden 5-1 in the opening match for the "Carthage Eagles," a result that led to the dismissal of coach Sabri Lamouchi.

During that short period, Renard oversaw two matches that ended in losses against Japan (4-0) and the Netherlands (3-1).

After his temporary mission with Tunisia, Renard remained without a club or national team before returning after 11 years to the bench of the Ivory Coast national team, where he enjoys great popularity for leading the generation that included Yaya Touré to win the Africa Cup in 2015, ending a wait of nearly 25 years.

Renard has an impressive record in Africa, having previously won the Africa Cup of Nations with Zambia in 2012, and has coached several national teams, including Ghana, Angola, and Morocco.

However, his recent experiences have yielded mixed results, as he was dismissed from coaching the Saudi national team in April, despite leading them to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and he also led the French women's national team to the quarter-finals in the "Paris 2024" Olympic Games.

The Ivorian federation stated that Renard will arrive in Abidjan in the coming days to officially take up his duties.