Côte d’Ivoire will face Gabon in Butare on Sunday, in their 2016 African Nations Championship’s final Group A outing.

The Elephants are lying second in the table on 3 points, after bouncing back from a 1-0 defeat to tournament’s hosts Rwanda in their campaign opener with a 1-0 victory over Morocco in their second encounter.

And a draw with the Panthers will prove enough to see the West Africans book their place in the knockout stage of the continental competition.

“We are getting ready to face Gabon. We are feeling good and the atmosphere in the team is great,” Côte d’Ivoire skipper Nguessan Yao Serge said.

“Group A is tough. We defeated Morocco, but we also lost against Rwanda. We had to face great players.

“It is now up to us to do what it takes to qualify for the next round. We need to remain focused to beat Gabon in our final match.”

Elephants head coach Michel Dussuyer will however have to cope in the absence of defender Koffi Marcellin due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have no other choice but to earn all three points to stand any chance of progressing to the quarterfinals, after a goalless draw against Morocco followed by a 2-1 loss to Rwanda.

The match will kick off at Huye Stadium in Butare at 16h00 CAT on Sunday, with Rwanda, who are already through, taking on Morocco in Kigali in the other Group A fixture at the same time.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com