Thunder will strike ‘The Elephants’ at their stadium-Juan Micha

Despite this being a high-stakes encounter, Equatorial Guinea coach Juan Micha believes his Nzelang Nacional (National Thunder) will strike the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire when both sides clash at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on Monday.

Micha intends to approach Monday’s match against wounded Cote d’Ivoire like any other of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

The Equatorial Guinea coach says the pressure is on the hosts to get a result following their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria.

Juan Micha’s side led Group A after a draw in their opening match against Nigeria and a win over Guinea-Bissau, which put them in a comfortable position ahead of the group favorites.

Speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, Micha said the pressure was on them, and they would surprise them if they opened up.

“It will be a tough match for both teams but especially for Cote d’Ivoire because they are under pressure to win. We will calmly approach the match. We will not wait. We know they will come at us and open up, allowing us to surprise them at their stadium. We know they are under pressure, not us,” he declared in a pre-match press conference.

The two sides have previously met in the competition, with both results going the way of the Elephants.

Kick-off at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium this afternoon is at 17h00 Local Time.