Ligue 2’s top scorer with Stade de Reims, 22-year-old attacking midfielder Yaya Kader Fofana has been called up to the Ivory Coast senior national team for the first time, according to OneFootball/Lensois.com.
Ten goals in twelve Ligue 2 matchdays and top of the scoring charts: Yaya Kader Fofana is dominating the competition. The Stade de Reims attacking midfielder has also just been called up to the Ivory Coast senior national team for the first time, OneFootball/Lensois.com reports. He has never yet worn the Elephants shirt: a first cap is possible during the November 2026 international break.
His latest brace confirms, according to the same source, an exceptional start to the season. Behind those numbers, the Reims player’s journey has had several stages: an academy in Mali, a contract signed with Lens at 18, a virus that disrupted his adventure, and then the Champagne club’s reserves.
A virus disrupted his adventure at Lens
Born in Ivory Coast, Fofana joined the Afrique Football Élite academy in Mali before signing for RC Lens in summer 2022, at the age of 18. An aggressive virus disrupted his time in Artois: he never played for Lens’s senior side, according to OneFootball/Lensois.com.
He joined the Stade de Reims reserves in 2023. He then made promising beginnings in Ligue 1, before the Champagne club’s relegation. Reims now play in Ligue 2, where the attacking midfielder has taken top spot in the scoring charts.
Fourth top scorer in Europe according to the source
With his ten goals, Yaya Kader Fofana climbs to fourth among Europe’s top scorers, behind Raphinha (Barcelona), Will Lankshear (Middlesbrough) and Kylian Mbappé (Real Madrid), according to OneFootball/Lensois.com. For now, this ranking is documented only by that source.
That position comes on top of a latest brace which, again according to the same source, confirms his exceptional start to the season with the Champagne club.
Rendezvous at the November break
The call-up to the Elephants is official. No quote from the player or the head coach has been made public at this stage. Fofana does not yet have a cap: his first is possible during the November 2026 international break, and he has not yet played a single minute in the Ivory Coast shirt.
The report specifies neither the exact date of that break nor Ivory Coast’s opponent.