APA-Yamoussoukro (Côte d’Ivoire) The new coach of the Elephants, Fae Emerse, talks about his baptism of fire after the Côte d’Ivoire-Senegal match in the last 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which ended in a 5-4 victory for the Elephants on penalty shootouts
Right from the start, the Lions of Teranga made their mark with a goal from striker Habib Diallo after only four minutes. After several attacks, the Elephants were awarded a penalty by Franck Kessie (85 min.), which brought the score back to parity (1-1).
“We had a difficult start to the game. We struggled to get into our stride. We took that goal very quickly, which is what I feared. But you have to congratulate the players on their courage. They showed me that they are warriors, real Elephants,” Fae Emerse said.
For him, it was “a tough match,” because “there was pressure, but it was positive pressure.” We’re going to take it one game at a time,” he added. “We’ve come so far that we’re not going to get carried away. Just because we’ve just beaten the defending champions doesn’t mean we’re any better.
“We’re going to keep working. Before the match, I told the players that anything can happen in this game, that we had to stay compact and well organised, but whatever happens, we’re going to be rewarded,” he went on.
“I know the players well and I knew they would be energised after that tragic match against Equatorial Guinea. Now we’re going to wait for our quarter-final opponents, but we’ll keep on working,” Ermese Fae further said.
Former Ivorian international Ermese Fae was appointed interim coach of the Elephants, replacing Jean-Louis Gasset, after Côte d’Ivoire’s group match debacle against Equatorial Guinea (0-4).
Côte d’Ivoire, hosts of the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations (AfCON 2023), have qualified for the quarter-finals. The Elephantswill face the winner of the match between Burkina Faso and Mali.
AP/fss/abj/APA