IVORY COAST
Failure to advance in the World Cup qualifiers puts a damper on the prospects of “Les Elephants”, whose decisive game against Cameroon in November was played without winger Wilfried Zaha, who allegedly asked to be excused from international duty.
While the story was that he had picked up a virus on his previous African trip one month earlier and not yet shaken it off, missing out on such a key game suggested trouble under the surface.
The Ivorians will, however, see the Cup of Nations as a chance for redemption and certainly know their way around the tournament.
This will be Ivory Coast’s 24th appearance at the finals – only Egypt have been to more – and their ninth tournament in a row.
KEY PLAYER
Franck Kessie has an air of maturity and experience well beyond his 25 years and drives the Ivorian side from midfield like a natural successor to Yaya Toure, who captained Les Elephants to the Cup of Nations title in 2015.
THE COACH
Aged 43, Patrice Beaumelle will be among the youngest coaches at the finals but he has considerable Cup of Nations experience as assistant to Herve Renard when he won the 2012 title with Zambia and again in 2015 with Ivory Coast, the job Beaumelle took in 2020.