Africa Cup of Nations Group A action resumes on Thursday, 18 January with a mouth-watering clash of African heavyweights in hosts, Cote d’Ivoire taking on a redemption-seeking Nigeria.
Cote d’Ivoire’s Elephants triumphed to a 2-0 victory in their opening match against Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, while Nigeria’s Super Eagles came from behind to salvage a point in their 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro and his men will have their work cut out when facing a high in confidence Cote d’Ivoire which will have the backing of a vocal crowd at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium.
The Super Eagles must get a result or face the embarrassing possibility of an early exit.
The hosts on the other hand are high in confidence and will be hoping the duo of Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso and company continue from where they left off.
Coach Jean-Louis Gasset might also have the luxury of having Sébastien Haller back from injury as well as the young Simon Adingra, who were both unavailable for the first match.
The last meeting between the two sides was on 11 January 2015 in a friendly match that was won by the Elephants. However, with a continental title at stake, the match has all the ingredients to be a great advert for the African game