AFCON: Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau Live
Preview
Ivory Coast will start their quest for a third Africa Cup of Nations title by facing Guinea-Bissau in the opening match of the tournament at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on Saturday. The hosts are expected to lead Group A, while Guinea-Bissau is aiming for their first advancement to the group stage.
Jean-Louis Gasset’s Ivory Coast team will face pressure as they kick off Africa Cup of Nations 2023 against Guinea-Bissau. Guinea-Bissau, who secured a spot in the finals, finished second in qualifying, winning four out of six games. Ivory Coast has a strong history of progressing from the group stage at the Africa Cup of Nations and aims to continue this trend by putting on a strong performance against Guinea-Bissau. In a recent tune-up game, Ivory Coast defeated Sierra Leone 5-1, showcasing their strong attacking abilities. The team hopes to carry this form into the Africa Cup of Nations opener and is optimistic about their goal-scoring abilities.
The Djurtus are aiming to advance past the group stage for the first time in their fourth attempt, as they have not been able to do so in the past three tournaments. This includes winning their first game at the finals, a feat they have not achieved in their nine previous attempts in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Despite finishing second in their qualifying group, they secured a surprising victory over Nigeria in their home, and they hope to achieve another positive result against the Super Eagles at Africa Cup of Nations 2023.
Their first challenge, however, is to face the host nation and try to frustrate the Elephants while capitalizing on their counter-attacking and set-piece opportunities on Saturday. Nevertheless, this will be a difficult task for Guinea-Bissau, as they are ranked 54 places below Ivory Coast in FIFA’s rankings heading into the competition.
Head-to-head
This is the first competitive meeting between both sides.
Prediction
Ivory Coast is anticipated to navigate past Guinea-Bissau’s tactics and the pressure of the first match to secure a straightforward win in the tournament’s opening game on Saturday. Although Guinea-Bissau is not expected to be as vulnerable as they were in the 6-2 friendly loss to Mali last week, they are unlikely to cause an unexpected upset.
Live Stream
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