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Cape Town - Cote d’Ivoire will take on Mali in an aim to consolidate their chances of qualifying for the next round in their 2015 CAF African Cup of Nations.
Although the Elephants are fresh from a 1-1 draw against Guinea on Tuesday evening, their target will be to claim the three points against the Eagles.
The Herve Renard-mentored side will face Henryk Kasperzcak’s men with the absence of key striker Gervinho who received his marching orders against the National Elephants of Guinea.
However, coach Renard could possibly call on the St. Etienne’s player, Max Gradel as a replacement for the Roma striker.
To midfielder, Geoffrey Serey Die, they have a good team which is capable of going far in this prestigious tournament.
“We have a team good enough to go far in this competition, Mali may be a step up from Guinea but each match has his own reality,” said Die.
“We are going to show a different face against Mali, anyway, it is going to be war against them.”
Looking at the Eagles camp, they’re motivated after meeting with the Lions and getting a point as they’re yet to defeat the West African side in the tournament.
However, midfielder Sambou Yatabare, who was awarded as man-of-the match against Finke’s men, said he’s disappointed not to have won their match last Tuesday.
"We could have won this match, I don't know if it was a mistake from our side or a great play from the Cameroonians - we are disappointed and we need to correct our mistakes," he said.
"We had a great game. We were strong defensively and I am sure we can take that going forward.”
The result in this game is set to change the standings in Group D as all the four teams have amassed one point thus far and three points are at stake as both coaches, Henryk Kasperzcak and Finke will eye maximum points to consolidate their chances of a second round qualification.
The match gets underway at Estadio de Malabo at 18:00(SA time) on Saturday, February 24.
