Guinea Bissau head coach Baciro Cande is confident of a good performance in the Africa Cup of Nations match against Gabon this evening at Stade de ‘Amitie’ in Liberville.

Cande believes his team has the confidence to battle aganist the hosts Gabon and he is not at all scared about the players in the Gabon squad led by star striker Aubameyang.

In a interview yesterday with a Portuguese news outlet  Ogologb at the Omono hotel where the team is staying,the coach  insisted his side is determined to defeat the hosts.

“Football is a collective game and there are certain sectors that we cannot make closed marking on players, science tells us that ball runs more than one player, and so occupying space between lines and cutting lines of pass is much more important than making a direct marking,”said Baciro Cande.

“We are not concerned with direct marking a player and  remaining players. Our national team does not have the players of great names of international soccer, but we have a very strong collective squad that will work against the selection of Gabon, ” he added.

Guinea Bissau made it to the finals for the first time in their history and nearly boycotted the games due to delay on payment of their allowances but Cande says nothing should be read from that.

“The most important thing is that my team will play with the ball and without the ball, because playing without the ball is more dangerous than playing with the ball”, he added.

“When the will be with the opponent will do to look for the break of plays.Today we will be playing a diffrent kind of football.”

Cande is expected to name a strong squad and will be rinding on a backbone of powerful  starting eleven that will be full of foreign based players.

Djrutus must beat Gabon to have any realistic chances of making it past the group stages on their first appearance at the continential stage.

Guinea Bissau, are in Group A alongside Cameroon,Burkina Faso and Gabon. This will be their first meeting with their opponents at any level.

Meanwhile Gabon Coach Jose Antonio Camacho has on his side expressed his motive going to this game

“In this tournament all the teams are difficult to handle. We must be ready to fight tooth and nail.

“If Guinea-Bissau wins it is because they were better prepared than we were – but they don’t have the pressure we have because we a playing at home.”

Gabon will be expected to take home the three point but Guinea-Bissau are there to spoil the party for the Panthers.