AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast face Mali hurdle

Ivory Coast intend to keep their dream alive after the feat of knocking out Senegal, the reigning African champions. Led by new interim coach Emerse Faé, the Elephants will play in Bouaké in front of a crowd who have turned out with the sole ambition of reaching the semi-finals. At a press conference, Emerse Faé insisted he was not a magician. "After qualifying against Senegal, we were able to regain our confidence, which was very complicated for us from the start, but winning, especially on penalties, is really emotional. The Mali team are a good side. They have good midfielders and we know it will be very difficult. I am not a magician and I never have been. I am also a young coach who knows this group very well. I have been with them for about a year and a half. After the drama we went through against Equatorial Guinea, I had faith in the team and I was able to find the right words for them," said the former Ivorian midfielder. Confident in his players' talent, he is ready for this heavyweight clash. "We are going to prepare a team to play against Mali. We are going to prepare in terms of quality. We have our strengths and what matters is that we focus on our own team."

Read more on the same subject: AFCON 2023 - Emerse Faé: "I am not a magician"

Mali and their attacking power

At the other end, Mali want to break through this glass ceiling and show that this generation is ready to aim high, notably for the title itself. After a very solid performance against Burkina Faso, the Eagles want to back it up against the host nation, Ivory Coast. With 5 goals scored, Mali's attack wants to hit hard against an Ivorian defence that does not inspire much calm, having conceded 6. " We are in a good frame of mind. We are all in form, the team is working well for this match, we are focused on tomorrow's game," said Lassine Sinayako, who has scored 3 goals at this AFCON.

For Eric Chelle, only hard work and humility will allow the Eagles to beat Ivory Coast. "We are happy to be here. We have had time to recover and prepare for this match. It is a very symbolic knockout game for us and we expect a lot from it. We are going to play the host nation, the country organising this tournament. One thing is important to me: Ivory Coast are among the favourites, as I have said from the start. They are the host nation, the organising country, and they are something of the favourites. This will be an emotional match, a match between two brothers, and I also have my own view on the Ivory Coast team. There are Ivorian players with ties to Mali, so it will be an emotional match," said the coach.