The Africa Cup of Nations has provided plenty of drama, and exciting moments, and the curtain will finally come down when host nations Ivory Coast face Nigeria at Olympique Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday (22:00).
It will be a repeat of the second Group A match between the two nations, which was decided by a penalty scored by Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong in the 55th minute.
Ivory Coast then suffered the country’s heaviest defeat when they were crushed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, resulting in the hosts being on the verge of bombing out of the competition.
But they were given a second bite to reach the knockout stages as one of the third four best nations. Now they are dreaming big to win the competition for the first time since 2015.
“We indeed have a beautiful opportunity (tomorrow) to keep the cup at home,” said caretaker coach Emerse Fae on the eve of the final.
“We know it’s hard to do that as hosts, but we have an opportunity to achieve that feat and add another star to this shirt.
“From a psychological aspect, we’re on a level playing field, despite having a different tournament. They have been near perfect since the 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea, changed their system, and ramped up results.
“They are strong defensively and managed to overcome all the games, but I feel the two teams are the same level, but details matter.
“We will try and wear them out tactically and physically, we will not rush anything, we will be patient, it’s 90 minutes.”
Ivory Coast, if they beat Nigeria, will become the first host nation to win an AFCON since Egypt in 2006. The Ivorians were the opponents on that occasion and Fae was part of the side.
“It’s hard to reach the final. I feel to be here if you reach it, it means you deserve to be here,” he added.
Fae took over after the Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following the bruising loss to Equatorial Guinea.
REMEMBER to sign up to our new WhatsApp channel FOR FREE to get the latest iDiski newspaper FOR FREE. Press this link and respond with SUBSCRIBE.
Fae, assisted by former defender Jean-Jacques Gosso, has overseen knock-out wins over champions Senegal, Mali, and DR Congo to reach the final.
“It’s a tough question, the easy answer is no, I’m not special, I’m not the special one,” when asked if he is the special one.
“I said from day one, I know the group for two years, the technical team knows this group (perfectly),” he said.
“We tried to focus on building chemistry. Special one? I’ve not invented anything; I’m doing basic things. The most important thing is the group, making them feel important and cohesive in the squad.
“Making players feel equal, on the same playing field, from there it makes things easier, maybe ask (Sebastien) Haller, he’s worked under many coaches, and maybe he can tell you if I’m special or not, but I don’t see it that way.”
