AFCON 2023: “We owe our people a revenge”, Emerse ahead of Senegal game

Having taken over the job as coach of Cote D’Ivoire from Jean Louis Gasset after an embarrassing group stage showing by the Elephants, Fae wants his team to win back respect from fans.

After a long suspense, Cote D’Ivoire is determined to get their campaign on queue.

The Elephants will play the round of 16 of AFCON 2023, which they host; a relief for Emerse Fae, the interim coach of the team.

The former Cote D’Ivoire international was appointed following the departure of Jean-Louis Gasset.

It is therefore Emerse Fae who will lead the team’s dugout in the round of 16 which they play on Monday against Senegal in Yamoussoukro.

Cote D’Ivoire owes its qualification to Morocco’s 1-0 success against Zambia on Wednesday evening. After the debacle against Equatorial Guinea, it came as relief for Emerse Fae and the Ivorians.

“We were disappointed with our own match and the fear of not qualifying for the knockout. So it’s been a difficult 2 days and today we’re going to say that the day ended well, that’s a very good thing. Now we qualified thanks to others. We did not qualify because we were good on the pitch so we must remain humble, we must have measured joy, use this qualification as a relief,” he said.

“I think we will have less weight on our shoulders because the wait really hurt us. Now, we are free, but we must quickly concentrate on the Senegal match, because it is a good team and because we still owe our people a revenge,” added Emerse Fae.