The curse of the ‘golden generation’ has struck the Ivory
Coast for nearly a decade and they can get a step closer to landing that
seemingly elusive trophy by beating Nigeria today in their quarter final at the
African Cup of Nations. Hot favourites for the tournament beforehand, the Ivory
Coast haven’t landed an African Cup of Nations since 1982 despite holding the
most talented group of players for the last decade with ease, although not for
a lack of trying.
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| Gerviniho has looked good for the Ivory Coast despite a poor season with Arsenal |
Since 2004, they’ve come runners up in 2006, fourth place in 2008, were knocked out in the quarter finals in 2010 and lost only on penalties in the final last year; Infact, since their quarter final defeat they’ve won 7 games in this tournament, 5 of them to nil, scoring a total of 15 goals; Impressive considering that their 2-2 draw against Algeria came with many players having been out of the 1st XI with the group already won. Before that they had been the better side even if needing late goals to overcome Togo and Tunisia, and look to hold more quality in midfield and defence than Nigeria, who needed a Victor Moses brace in the last 15 minutes to just to qualify against Ethiopia. Admittedly they were the better team against Zambia – having a harsh penalty given against them late on for the draw – but to utilise their quality striking forces they’ll have to dominate the best midfield in the competition and if not, it’s hard to see their defence holding out for 90 minutes; At a shade of odds on, Ivory Coast look to be the value.
Advice
1 pt Ivory Coast (10/11 general)
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