Instead of Schmelzer, Loew picked his Borussia Dortmund teammate Erik Durm, who made his international debut against Cameroon. Also included were midfielders Christian Kramer and Matthias Ginter, who have three appearances between them.
Christian Kramer, research assistant for the LSE IDEAS Africa Program at the London School of Economics, says Ouattara is in a difficult situation because he came to power by relying on a number of armed gangs and rebel groups that he did not have control over.