Ivory Coast host rivals Cameroon as they wrap up their 2015 CAF Africa Nations Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday afternoon hoping to book a spot in Equatorial Guinea.
Although the Indomitable Lions have already qualified, playing the Elephants is always a tough assignment and both sides will look to register a positive result.
Cameroon will go into this encounter sitting comfortably at the pole position in Group D after beating DR Congo last Saturday. They have amassed 13 points from five matches having won four and drawn one.
The hosts on the other hand are currently sitting at position two with nine points after registering three wins and two losses.
Herve Renard’s charges are in high spirits after demolishing Sierra Leone by 5-1 last Friday, a result that puts them closer to qualifying.
However, the rivalry between these two sides is something that cannot be ignored and the match is set to go either way. Cameroon would like to keep their qualifiers’ record clean without a loss and Ivory Coast must get a victory at all costs.
According to the Elephants’ star winger, Max Gradel, their victory over Sierra Leone means their job is half done and will need to finish it offon Wednesday.
“The victory means that half the job is done. We need to finish it on Wednesday against Cameroon and that’s it, with a lot of patience like we did against Sierra Leone,” said Gradel.
“In the second half we realised that we had to pace ourselves and move forward when we had to. It is what we did and we got the result - we have to repeat the same strategy on Wednesday.”
To the Indomitable Lions skipper, Stephane Mbia, they’re in a reconstruction process with a young team but they remain focused.
“We are in a reconstruction process, the team is very young. The coach (Volker Finke) is busy instilling a new mentality in the squad,” said Mbia.
“There is some discipline, a certain behaviour, and that’s why we are getting results. We are very pleased with the qualification, we are going to remain focused and think about our next game which is very important to us.”
This final Group D clash will kick-off at Stade Felix Houphoet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan at 14:00 (CAT).
