CHESTER, Pa.— In their final tune-up before the World Cup commences, Côte d’Ivoire’s men’s national team, who are using the Philadelphia Union’s facilities as their home base, played Union II in an international friendly that consisted of three 30-minute periods.The match was free to attend for fans, and along with many of the Union faithful, there was a large contingent wearing orange in support of Les Éléphants, which brought a great energy to the stadium on what turned out to be a gorgeous evening for the beautiful game.
It was not the typical roster one might see with Union II, but featured several guest players who were formerly with Union II and the Academy on the bench. Henry Bernstein (Maryland), Gavin Wetzel (Pitt), Daniel Krueger (Wake Forest), and JoJo Elliott (Delaware) currently play for their colleges in the NCAA. Anthony Fontana is currently without a club, but was most recently with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks.
The starting eleven looked a bit more typical for Union II, save for Cavan Sullivan making his first appearance in the squad since 2025 as he has graduated to a starting role with the first team. Eddy Davis and Theo Reed were at striker. Joining Sullivan at attacking mid was Willyam Ferreira, and at defensive mid were Óscar Benítez and Matheus De Paula. The back line saw Kaiden Moore at left back, Rafael Uzcátegui and Finn Sundstrom at center back, and Giovanny Sequera at right back. Pierce Holbrook rounded out the lineup in the goal.
Les Elephants put Union II to the test right away, with Holbrook making a huge save in the 2nd minute as Bonny Yoan went 1v1 with him. They were not kept off the scoreboard for long, however as Côte d’Ivoire’s Evann Guessand found the back of the net in the 9th minute.
In the 14th minute, Davis had the first shot for Union II, forcing the Ivorian keeper, Alban Lafont, to deflect it out for a corner. Sullivan and Davis brought some more pressure minutes later, including a free kick in the 21st minute for Sullivan that went over the crossbar.
Union II then got a huge opportunity in the 22nd minute when Sullivan was fouled inside the box, and a penalty kick was awarded. Sullivan took the kick from the spot, but Lafont blocked it with his outstretched leg to keep Union II off the board.
As the first of the three periods was winding down, Moore was shown a yellow card for the first booking of the match. Holbrook made another save moments later, and then Sullivan took the ball down with Davis running on, but the buildup was thwarted by Côte d’Ivoire’s defense. The first period ended with Les Éléphants leading Union II 1-0.
There were no changes going into the second period. In the 34th minute after a giveaway by Sullivan, Côte d’Ivoire saw a quality chance, but the shot hit the side netting as Holbrook and the defense stood strong.
Côte d’Ivoire then doubled their lead in the 40th minute via a PK converted by Ange-Yoan Bonny after Sundstrom committed a foul in the box. Shortly after, substitutions were made for Union II. In the 45th minute, JoJo Elliott replaced Pierce Holbrook in goal. Andrew Craig, Sal Olivas, and Mamoutou Berthé replaced Kaiden Moore, Willyam Ferreira, and Óscar Benítez.
Les Éléphants saw their first yellow in the 51st minute, and then after some buildup by Sullivan, Davis took a shot that was saved and deflected out to De Paula, whose attempt was blocked. As the period wore on, Elliott made several more saves, including a big one in the 55th minute, and looked very confident in net. The second period ended with Union II trailing Côte d’Ivoire 2-0.
The third and final period began with a host of changes for Union II, with Lennon Harrington, Henry Bernstein, Gavin Wetzel, Abdoulaye Diop, and Nehan Hasan coming on for De Paula, Uzcátegui, Sequera, Davis, and Reed. Meanwhile, Côte d’Ivoire brought on a lot of their top talent. Union II’s defense was not making it easy for Les Éléphants, however, including some quality brought by Andrew Craig.
It looked like Côte d’Ivoire was going to have their third goal in the 67th minute, but it was ruled offside. Meanwhile, Union II were working hard to break through the defense and find the back of the net, and in the 72nd minute, Olivas’s shot was deflected by the sprawled out keeper. They made their final substitutions in the 79th minute as Anthony Fontana and Daniel Krueger replaced Cavan Sullivan and Finn Sundstrom. For Sullivan, the 16 year old—aside from the missed PK—looked quite capable during the match and brought excitement to the many fans in attendance as he tends to do.
Misfortune struck Union II when a foul was committed in the box by Harrington in the 81st minute, with the referee once again pointing to the spot in Côte d’Ivoire’s favor. Nicholas Pépé took the kick, but JoJo Elliott denied the 31 year old winger from La Liga side Villarreal in the 82nd minute as he dove to his left and deflected the ball away. It was a huge moment for the keeper who we had the pleasure of interviewing a few months ago, and who was outstanding on the evening.
The rest of the match played out with Union II’s defense and Elliott’s goalkeeping holding up, and the 2-0 score held as Côte d’Ivoire took the victory in the friendly.
Perhaps it was not the most elite competition for the World Cup-bound squad, however one could look at it as a win for the many young players on Union II who were able to test their mettle against a high-caliber opponent in an electric environment.
Côte d’Ivoire will kick off their World Cup play against Ecuador on Sunday, June 14 at 7:00 PM at “Philadelphia Stadium,” which of course is the “Linc” and the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. Meanwhile, Union II will host NYCFC II on the same day at Kinetic Field at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex at 3:00 PM.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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