Interim head coach of the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire Emerse Faé says his side must seize the initiative right from the start of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Faé, 40, has seen his side come back from the dead to win against Francophone neighbours Mali and Senegal in the last two rounds of the competition but the former Reading FC of England midfielder wants a different story in the semi-final.
Côte d’Ivoire face the Leopards of the DRC in a repeat of the 2015 semi-final and Faé wants a story different from the last two rounds in which they conceded first.
“It is true that we have been struggling in the last two matches. Every time we concede first and we always find it difficult to put in place the strategy we had planned for the matches.
“So, for this match, we are going to seize the opportunity of the confidence we have gained from those games to impose ourselves from the beginning of the match and impose a rhythm on the match,” said Faé who replaced Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset after the group stage games.
The hosts will return to the main stadium for this AFCON tournament, the Stade Olympic d’Ebimpe otherwise known as the Alassane Ouattara Stadium after having played their last two games in two different cities.
Faé must however attempt to win the game against DRC without four of his players who are suspended for the game. Odilon Kossounou and Oumar Diakite who were sent off in the win over Mali while captain Serge Aurier and forward Christian Kouame will also miss after earning their second caution of the knockout stage in the same match.
“It is always a loss when you lose a player but the rest of the squad will fight, grit their teeth, do their job and try to take the team through to the final,” added Faé.
The game kicks off at 8pm local time (9pm Nigerian time) in Abidjan on Wednesday with the winner advancing to Sunday’s final.
Fisayo Dairo, reporting from Abidjan
