Hosts Cote D’Ivoire face off against Guinea Bissau in the Afcon 2023 opener at the Allasane Quatara stadium in Abidjan.

In the Pre-Match press conference in Abidjan Cote D’iviore coach Jean Louis Gasset  reiterated that despite the huge pressure they are facing as hosts of the Afcon they had everything lined up to ensure they get positive results in the opener.

Speaking to journalists Gasset was optimistic that despite the huge pressure he had players who were ready to make the nation happy.

“We know the pressure of being the host nation is huge but in football its eleven men against eleven .I have good and committed players who are prepared for the tournament”

“We need to be tactically and technically inorder to dominate Guinea Bissau who have very good players.We have alot of respect for them but we have worked hard to ensure we collect all the three points infront of our fans who expect nothing short of a win” Gasset said

On the availability of star player Sebastian Haller ,Gasset was straightforward “Haller will miss our opener but i cant talk about subsequent games because we have a plan for that”he added

On his part captain Frank Kessie was also upbeat “The team is united and we are looking forward to our opener.We will follow the coaches instructions but i would like to urge the fans to give us total support because we dont want to let them down ”

“No team is easy but with good preparations we want to collect all the three points against Guinea Bissau who we respect”Kessie said

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