AFCON: Ivory Coast coach reveals importance of Burkina Faso derby

Ivory Coast national team coach Emerse Fae has explained what will be at stake when they face Burkina Faso in the Round of 16 fixture of the Africa Cup of Nations at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Tuesday.

This is a West African derby rich in history, intensity and stakes, where every duel will weigh heavily in the pursuit of a place in the quarter-finals. The Stallions will arrive to face the African champions having finished second in Group E with six points, while Algeria topped the pile with maximum nine points.

In the group stage, Burkina Faso won two matches – 2-1 against Equatorial Guinea in the opener, and 2-0 against Sudan in matchday three. Their matchday two ended in a 2-0 defeat against Algeria.

For the Elephants, they finished top of Group F with seven points amassed from two wins, one draw and no defeat. Ivory Coast beat Mozambique 1-0 in matchday one, drew 1-1 against Cameroon, before coming from behind to beat the already eliminated Gabon 3-2.

Ivory Coast must achieve objectives

“When the match starts, there is no psychological advantage, no statistics and no past. The tactical aspect is just as important as the physical and technical ones. The stakes must not take over the game,” Fae told CAF Media.

“We have to play our football, without unnecessary pressure, and give everything to achieve our objective.”

Forward Jean-Philippe Krasso believes the Elephants will derive their strength from the impressive team spirit picked from the first three matches of the tournament where they won two and drew another.

“We are all focused on one objective: winning this match. You don’t win the AFCON with 11, 15 or 18 players. You win it with a whole group,” he said.

This will be the third meeting between the teams at AFCON, having previously met in back-to-back group stage encounters in 2010 and 2012.