Ivory Coast’s interim head coach Emerse Fae has explained his strategy to restore the players’ belief after their poor run of results in the group stage.
The host country were on the verge of exit but advanced into the knock-out stage as one of the third-best placed teams after grabbing three points from three group matches.
Their disappointing results led to the sack of French coach Jean-Louis Gasset during the tournament, with his Ivorian assistant Fae taking up the mantle to continue and he has led the Elephants to their first AFCON final since the 2015 triumphant outing in Zambia.
After masterminding Ivory Coast’s 1-0 win against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi-final on Wednesday, the former Nantes and Reading midfielder said he has managed to strengthen the team’s unity and confidence for a third AFCON title.
Fae told CAF: “I told the players: you are 27 players and I count on everyone. “If we want to win this competition, we will win it with all 27…I’ve been telling the players that everyone is important, including those in the stands, and they understood the message.”
Ivory Coast will face three-time AFCON champions Nigeria in Sunday’s final in Abidjan and Fae has expressed optimism to complete the rescue mission he started in the round of 16 on a high note.
“We will take stock in the next two days, we will analyze Nigeria, even though we played them in the group stage, we will see the strategy to implement for the final,” he added.
The Elephants battled the Super Eagles earlier in the tournament in the group stage, with the latter winning 1-0 through William Troost-Ekong’s penalty.
