Exclusive: Senegal Chase Marseille’s Robinio Vaz as Ivory Coast Line Up Strasbourg Duo

Two top African coaches were present at Stade de la Meinau on Friday to watch Marseille's 2-1 win over Strasbourg ahead of the final round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in October and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations that will take place in Morocco in December.

SENEGAL LOOKING AT ADDITIONS 

Marseille's 18-year-old forward, Robinio Vaz continues to catch the attention of Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw who was present to watch his impactful cameo appearance in the 2-1 win against Strasbourg this weekend.

Vaz was introduced in the closing minutes of Friday's encounter in Strasbourg and he produced the header that led to Amir Murillo's winning goal in the stoppage time.

Earlier in the week, Thiaw was spotted by SportsBoom.com at the Orange Velodrome in the Classique against Paris Saint-Germain but was not impressed by the two-minute cameo made by Vaz and also Paris Saint-Germain's Ibrahim Mbaye.

Thus, he made the trip to Strasbourg and the teenager did not disappoint with his late impact in the six minutes of action.

Vaz is eligible to represent either France, Guinea-Bissau or Senegal on the international scene, however, his recent exclusion from France's squad for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile has put Senegal on alert to lure to their national team. 

SportsBoom understands that the 18-year-old could be invited to the Senegalese national team before the end of the year with plans for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations already in motion. 

Former French youth international Mamadou Sarr, who is currently on loan from Chelsea, was also spotted in a meeting with Senegal coach Thiaw after the game.

The Strasbourg centre-back is another eligible player for Senegal national team, even though he previously played for the French U17, U19 and U20 teams.

IVORY COAST TARGET STRASBOURG DUO 

Ivory Coast head coach, Emerse Fae was also in attendance in the Ligue 1 fixture between Marseille and Strasbourg and he was impressed by two Ivorian descents, Abdoul Ouattara and Ismael Doukoure.

Ouattara and Doukoure are uncapped at the senior national team level and they gave good accounts of themselves, with Ouattara scoring Strasbourg's only goal in the defeat.

Friday's debut goal ended the 19-year-old's drought since he got promoted to the French club's first-team in October 2024.

The Strasbourg duo are being considered to add more depth to Emerse Fae's squad as they need to win their final two games against Seychelles and Kenya in October to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and also bolster the Ivorian squad with quality midfield options for the AFCON.