Emerse Fae
* DR Congo mentor Desabre dreams of the ultimate AFCON glory after quarter-final win
* Nigeria coach Peseiro demands more goals than just watertight defence going forward
Maravi Express
Côte d’Ivoire’s interim coach Emerse Fae says his side felt “resurrected” at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations after overturning their disastrous start to remarkably reach the semi-finals.
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The Elephants, who date DR Congo is Wednesday’s semi-finals, only qualified from the group stage as one of the best third-placed teams after defeats to Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
Fae was named to take charge of the team on an interim basis after coach Jean Louis Gasset was sacked for the host nation’s disastrous start to the competition.
Hosts Côte d’Ivoire failed to secure automatic qualification to the tournament’s knockout stage when it was beaten 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea in its final group game which led to the sacking of the Frenchman.
The side looks to have turned the corner after Fae took over and has now steered the side to the last four and Fae revealed: “I told the players we were dead after the defeat against Equatorial Guinea, and we were resurrected after the Morocco game with Zambia.”
That lifeline allowed Côte d’Ivoire to stun defending champions Senegal and overcome 10-man Mali after extra time to set up a semi-final with DR Congo.
Fae admitted experiencing a whirlwind of emotions during the dramatic Mali win: “I had all the emotions running through my head, trying to reflect to see the ideal substitutions,” he said.
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With the Elephants excelling after being written off, Faé is taking nothing for granted ahead of facing DR Congo: “When you reach the semi-finals, you play with teams of high quality, so we are going to prepare ourselves.”
After the embarrassment of the group stage, Faé has masterminded a remarkable reversal of fortunes and his resurrected Elephants now stand just two games from incredibly winning the tournament.
Sébastien Desabre
Meanwhile, DR Congo coach Sébastien Desabre says his side have “points” to win the title after finally recording their first victory of the tournament against Guinea in the quarter-finals.
The Leopards had drawn all four previous games against Zambia, Morocco, Tanzania and Egypt but their 3-1 triumph over Guinea on Saturday earned a semi-final clash with hosts Côte d’Ivoire.
For Desabre, the long-awaited win shows his team are hitting form at the perfect time: “This victory comes at the right time as we are gaining momentum in the competition. We won, we drew, but did not lose,” the Frenchman said.
Desabre now believes DR Congo can dream of the ultimate prize: “It would be foolish not to believe in the final victory — but it will be difficult.”
The coach feels DR Congo have the firepower to trouble any defence, despite only scoring three goals prior to the quarters: “We have forwards like Bakambu, Banza and Mayele Fiston. We know it was a matter of time before we succeeded.”
With momentum building and a first AFCON crown now within reach, the DR Congo boss is daring to dream: “When you reach the semi-finals, you first want to reach the final. And if you have the chance to reach the final, you want to win it. We will do everything to have no regrets.”
After finally finding their attacking spark, Desabre and DR Congo can be forgiven for believing their AFCON fairytale may have a glorious ending.
For the other semifinal, Nigeria mentor José Peseiro has called on his side to be more clinical up front despite boasting the strongest defence.
José Peseiro
The Super Eagles are into the semi-finals after a 1-0 win over Angola which represented their fourth straight clean sheet at the competition. Quietly and without fanfare, Nigeria are steadily advancing in the Côte d’Ivoire 2023 with a clash with South Africa on Wednesday.
The coach and his players are now two matches away from a fourth triumph for Nigeria and while praising Nigeria’s defensive solidity, Peseiro hopes to see improvements in attack.
“Once again we played without conceding, scored a goal, but I would have liked more. The team could have created more opportunities,” he said.
With just six goals scored in five games, the Portuguese feels Nigeria aren’t capitalizing on their quality: “We are a top quality team, Angola was very good, but we had more luck. I remain satisfied with my players but want us to be more efficient.”
The coach did admit that chance creation hasn’t been helped by injury absences: “We’re missing some key creators like Iheanacho and Aribo, so it’s been hard. But others must now step up.”
As Nigeria chase a fourth AFCON crown, Peseiro knows finding a clinical edge could be decisive and a victory against South Africa at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké would bring them closer to this important goal.
The Super Eagles have ground out results thanks to their miserly defence but should they rediscover their scoring touch, Peseiro may yet lead Nigeria back to the pinnacle of African football.—Reporting by CAFonline
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