Feb 4, 2012

Africa Cup of nations 2012: Pre match Preview of Second Quarter final Ivory Coast Vs Equatorial Guinea





It is a battle of pre-tournament favourites against co-hosts who have stunned their critics. The west Africans  Ivory coast arrive at the knock out stage with a clean sheet and have so far proven to be the strongest side in the 28th edition of the continental flagship.

The central Africans, debutants though they are, have left both admirers and critics shell-shocked and after having crashed out pre-tournament favourites Senegal from the competition with a 2-1 victory, pre-tournament doubting Thomases have changed their minds and now believe that they will be able to give the Ivorians a good run on Saturday.

On paper the Elephants have won the game with a star-studded unit comprising of Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Arsenal’s Gervinho, but the Nzalang Nacional could pose as a strong opposition coupled with the huge home support at their disposal.

 Facts about Opponents:
  • This is the third time Cote d’Ivoire has qualified for the quarter-final stage of the tournament.
  • The Elephants were once banned from the competition in 1978.
  • Cote d'Ivoire have won the Afcon trophy once and that was two decades ago.
  • Equatorial Guinea's Brazilian coach Gilson Paulo has been rewarded for the good work he produced in qualifying the team for the quarter-finals of the Afcon with a year-extension on his original two-month contract.
  • The Nzalang Nacional have not qualified for the tournament before this Afcon.
  • The co-hosts are ranked 151st on the Fifa rankings
Last Five matches of Two Opponents: 
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