As Côte d’Ivoire takes on the Teranga Lions in a clash of heavyweights
It’s all set. Defending champions Senegal will come up against host Côte d’Ivoire on Monday, 29 January, at the Charles Konan Bani Stadium, Yamoussoukro, for the Round of 16 clash of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
The game promises to be a tough encounter based on the ambitions of the two sides in the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Côte d’Ivoire 2023. With the Elephants looking to correct the wrongs of the group stage, they will go all in.
The Teranga Lions qualified from their group unbeaten and hope to continue with the same energy in the knockout stage.
Côte d’Ivoire wants to compensate for their poor showing in the group stage, in which they progressed with only 3 points as one of the best third-placed teams.
The Elephants will want to compensate their home fans for the poor showing in their last two games against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea by eliminating Senegal and qualifying for the quarter-finals.
Aliou Cisse – Senegal coach
“Our team is going through a reasonable period after three matches, where we achieved good results in the group stage, and I am satisfied with it. We are in an excellent state to focus. The statistics are there, and I cannot change the past and the results. We are in the present, and we will remain focused. We are in the eighth final, against a good Côte d’Ivoire team. We will play a tough match. If we win, we will continue the adventure; if we lose, we will return home.
“We qualified with 9 points and the opponent with 3 points. This does not matter. Now, a new competition has begun. Côte d’Ivoire remains a major team in Africa, with good players. The defeat in their last two matches remains just an accident; they will show another performance in front of their fans.”
Moussa Nyakhate – Senegal defender
“We worked well this week. We must remain focused on the way we play in defense and attack. We will remain focused on ourselves in the match, and our goal remains to win. The Côte d’Ivoire national team is good, and they have players with good potential, and we greatly respect them. The atmosphere within the Senegalese team is great. Everyone is in good condition. We have a wonderful group of veterans mentoring the young players.”
Faye Emers – Côte d’Ivoire coach
“We prepared well for the Senegal match and will enter the game with great confidence. The players are motivated. I know the group well and have been with them for a year and a half. The players know what to expect from them in the Senegal match. We will enter the game with reasonable confidence. We have worked well since I came to head the national team. Côte d’Ivoire will remain Côte d’Ivoire even though we did not perform well in the group stage. If we ask Senegal which team they want to face in the last 16, they will choose another team with the best third-place other than Côte d’Ivoire.
Jean-Michael Seri – Côte d’Ivoire midfielder
“When you are competitive, you want to win the continental title, especially when you host the competition. In this competition, anything can happen. Things have passed, and we must look into the future, where the match against Senegal awaits us. I do not want to talk about what happened. There will be a new competition within this competition in the knockout round, and we want to progress with the new coach, who is also a big brother to us.”