AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast coach expects Super Eagles to provide tough test

The head coach of Cote d'Ivoire, Jean-Louis Gasset, anticipates a challenging matchup with the Nigerian Super Eagles.

In one of the competition's most anticipated matches, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire will square off on Thursday at the Alassanne Quattara Stadium.

In their first-round matches, the two teams experienced somewhat different results.

The Super Eagles and Equatorial Guinea played to a 1-1 draw, while the Elephants defeated Guinea-Bissau 2-0.

Gasset said the Super Eagles will pose a challenge for his team despite Nigeria's sluggish beginning.

He said, “Nigeria is a top team, they have good players, some of the best in Africa.

"You can’t judge them with the first game against Equatorial Guinea,” Gasset told a press conference in Abidjan on Wednesday.

“I think they struggled with the weather a bit in their first game.

"It’s not easy to play at 2pm here. Teams struggled even when they play in the evening, so you can imagine how difficult it was for them.”

“So, we are not going to judge them with the performance against Equatorial Guinea.

“It’s not going to be an easy game for us. They are a tough opponent and will make things difficult for us.”

With a long-standing rivalry, the two sides have faced off 27 times in all competitions since 1967.

Ten of the games have resulted in draws, giving the hosts a slim 9–8 advantage in the head-to-head record.

When the two teams last faced off in a friendly in 2015, the hosts prevailed 1-0 as they split the last four games.

In their six AFCON encounters with Cote d'Ivoire, the Super Eagles have prevailed four times, two of which have been by penalties, and the other two have gone to the home team.

Remarkably, in four out of the six competition editions where they have faced off against the hosts, Nigeria has advanced to the finals.

When they played each other in the AFCON quarterfinals in 2013, Nigeria prevailed 2-1 and a week later, they would win their third AFCON crown.