AFCON: Mozambique coach hopes to beat Ivory Coast in third attempt

Mozambique coach Chiquinho Conde hopes his side will overcome Ivory Coast in a third attempt at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco.

The Southern African side will take on the West African powerhouse at Stade de Marrakech at 7:30 Central Africa Time on Wednesday

The coach spoke about his team’s prospects as they face Ivory Coast for the third time in an AFCON match with the previous meetings ending in favour of the defending champions.

“We have already faced Ivory Coast twice in the CAN and we lost. The third may be for good. Life gives us opportunities to change history and this is ours. We want to write a new piece of history,” the coach told the Mozambique Football Federation.

Conde added that he had paid attention to detail, looking at the demands of facing such a tough opposition loaded with quality.

Looking at the task at hand and the demands involved, the coach hinted that he will settle for a predominantly foreign-based starting XI with only one home-based player.

He fell short of disclosing the locally-based player to be featured. Captain Elias Dominguez Pelembe is among the home-based players.

“We want to start well facing a strong team, African champions, which increases our level. The experience we have gained in the last CAN, also in a difficult group, will be fundamental. The first game is decisive and we want to start well,” Conde said.

Mozambique suffer minor injury setback

Most players in camp are in fine form but the only bad news is that Nené is unavailable for the clash due to an injury the defender suffered during training.

Nonetheless, Conde said he has full faith in the remaining 24 players at his disposal for the Group F encounter.

“Fortunately, we have almost all the players available. We lost an important athlete, but we have a balanced group that allows us to make up for this absence. This is a unique race in Africa and we want to make the most of it to compete and fight,” the coach added.

Mozambique have never gone past the group stages, but they hope to do better this time around despite being placed in the same group with Gabon and other heavyweights Cameroon.

The next assignment for Conde’s side will be against Gabon on December 28 then Cameroon on December 31.

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