AFCON Round of 16: Senegal vs Ivory Coast Preview
Senegal are set to resume their title defence in the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16, facing Ivory Coast at Charles Konan Banny Stadium. This years tournament hosts will be eager to shake off their woes in the group stage by beating the Lions of Teranga.
The winner of this blockbuster fixture will face either Mali or Burkino Faso in the quarter finals.
All eyes are on the AFCON trophy / Image Credit: Ben Sutherland
The case for Senegal
The Teranga Lions have looked very strong so far in the tournament, and were the only side to win all three of their group games heading into the knockout rounds.
They started their AFCON 2023 campaign after dispatching Gambia 3-0, with some standout performances from the likes of Ismaïla Sarr and Lamine Camara. This showcased the young talent they have in their ranks.
They then took on Cameroon in a highly anticipated encounter. They cruised past this challenge as well, winning 3-1 on the night. Talisman and African football legend, Sadio Mané got on the scoresheet.
The last group game was against Guinea who proved to be the toughest opponent so far, however the reigning AFCON champions set them aside winning 0-2.
Senegal’s manager Aliou Cisse praised his teams impressive performances so far but remains cautious and composed coming into this heavyweight clash, “Our team is going through a good period after three matches, where we achieved good results in the group stage, and I am satisfied with it. We are in a good state to focus.”
“We are now in the eighth final, against a good Côte d’Ivoire team. We will play a very difficult match.”
The Lions of Teranga will be looking to produce yet another solid performance, despite some setbacks in the form of injured players. Marseille midfielder Pape Gueye came off injured in the 0-2 win against Guinea and hasn’t been training with the squad since.
Striker Abdallah Sima will miss this game too due to a thigh injury, meaning Strasbourg striker Habib Diallo is most likely to lead the line.
The case for Ivory Coast
The Elephants will be aiming to make amends for their disappointing performances in the last two matches against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, seeking to eliminate Senegal and secure a spot in the quarterfinals.
The hosts’ AFCON has gotten progressively worse since their first group game against Guinea-Bissau. An early goal from Seko Fofana had the Elephants fans believing this year was their year. A 2-0 win to start the tournament would have given the squad and a nation confidence going into their next games.
However, a 0-1 loss to fellow heavyweight Nigeria, will have diminished all the morale gained in the first match. An unfortunate result, decided by a penalty, where the Elephants were arguably the better side.
The real shock came when they were thrashed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, demonstrating their inability to convert chances and possession into goals, giving their opponent license to score at will.
This led to the sacking of manager Jean-Louis Gasset before the final qualification places had been confirmed. Nevertheless they managed to survive into the next round only because of Ghana’s terrible form.
New manager Faye Emers has taken the reigns possibly for just the one game but he will be hoping to take his side further, “Côte d’Ivoire will remain Côte d’Ivoire even though we did not perform well in the group stage.”
“If we ask Senegal which team, they want to face in the last 16, they will choose another team that occupied the best third place other than Côte d’Ivoire.”
With a new coach at the helm it is likely we will see some changed to the starting lineup, Sébastian Haller may feature on the bench as he is recovering from an ankle injury.
Serge Aurier will be hoping to restore his place in the team after being an unused sub against Equatorial Guinea. Winger Nicolas Pepe will most likely be benched for this one after a pretty terrible performance in the last game.
Max Flanagan
