The State of Play
Ivory Coast enter the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on home territory and well-equipped to potentially win a third AFCON title. Their last triumph in this competition came back in 2015 via a dramatic penalty-shoot-out victory over Ghana in the final. The squad is packed with notable star names such as Franck Kessie, Sebastien Haller and Evan Ndicka to pick just three players. Former Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe now at Trabzonspor could also prove a wildcard across the tournament. Ivory Coast are notoriously strong starters, having not lost their last 12 opening fixtures at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Guinea-Bissau are set to compete in their fourth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations campaign, but are still yet to pick up their first win in the tournament, drawing three and losing six of their nine previous group stage fixtures. Despite finishing bottom of their group on each occasion, they have reason for optimism this time around despite the quality of their Group A opponents.
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Team News
Ivory Coast face a tough decision regarding who to start upfront. Jeremie Boga started and scored in his side’s pre-tournament friendly against Sierra Leone, but leaving a player of Sebastien Haller’s class out, should he have recovered from an ankle injury would represent a huge gamble. Serge Aurier was on the bench in that friendly, but the skipper is likely to replace Wilfried Singo at right-back.
Captain Jonas Mendes will line up between the sticks for Guinea-Bissau, but one of his backup goalkeepers Celton Biai won’t be available after the Vitoria SC stopper declined his invitation to be part of the Guinea-Bissau squad for this tournament. Mauro Rodrigues could prove an important offensive outlet out wide, while Zulte Waregem striker Zinho Gano has taken to international football by storm since his debut in 2022, already scoring four times for his country.
Expected Line-ups
Ivory Coast: Y. Fofana; Aurier, Ndicka, Diomande, Konan; Kessie, S. Fofana, Sangare; Kouame, Boga, Bamba
Guinea-Bissau: J. Mendes; H. Mendes, Djalo, Sangante, Cande; N. Gomes, Bikel; Quizera, C. Mendes Gomes, Rodrigues; Gano
What they Said
Ivory Coast boss Jean-Louis Gasset on their opponents: “We cannot underestimate Guinea-Bissau. In these types of opening games, there is always a risk the underdog is fired up to cause an upset.”
Guinea-Bissau head coach Baciro Cande on his side’s hopes of getting through the group stage: “Our goal is to finally get past the first round. It is true that our group is very tough with opponents like Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea, but anything is possible in football.”
When and How to Watch
The game at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium will kick off at 20:00 on Saturday January 13th and will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. Subscribers to Sky Sports can alternately stream the game online via the ‘Sky Go’ app.
Prediction
When taking into account the players at their disposal and home advantage being in the favour, expectations are sky-high for Ivory Coast who cannot afford an opening night slip-up. They are likely to dominate here against Guinea-Bissau, who will need to defend extremely well throughout the 90 minutes. In the end though, the host nation’s attacking firepower should come through and lead Ivory Coast to a 2-0 victory.
