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2015 AFRICA CUP - QUARTER-FINALS - DAY 14 - Ivory Coast vs Algeria - PREVIEW

AFRICA CUP 2015 GROUP C GROUP D Quarter-Finals

 

MATCH PREVIEW


MATCH PREVIEW

Ivory Coast and pre-tournament favourites Algeria go head-to-head in what has the makings of a classic quarter-final.

The Elephants have yet to his top gear and know they will have to raise their game against the leading side in Africa according to the Fifa rankings.

Neutrals will be hoping for a repeat of the 2010 quarter-final encounter between the teams in Angola, when the Ivory Coast led 2:1 going into injury time only for Algeria to equalise before triumphing 3:2 after extra-time.

However, Ivorian coach Herve Renard will settle for a solid defensive display from his side.

For all the attention given to captain Yaya Toure and an attack led by Wilfried Bony, it was their defence which particularly impressed in Wednesday's 1:0 defeat of Cameroon which took the Elephants through.

"There are not many teams in the world who are capable of attacking all the time. 

At international level Spain have been able to play that way and today maybe Germany too. But we are not Germany, we are Ivory Coast," said Renard.

In the opposite dugout will be Renard's fellow Frenchman Christian Gourcuff, an advocate of passing football.

He frequently complained that his team were unable to string passes together in their first two group games in Mongomo but saw an improvement in the 2:0 defeat of Senegal in Malabo on Tuesday that took his team through.

 

MATCH FACTS

• Ivory Coast and Algeria have met six times before in the Africa Cup of Nations, with two wins apiece and two draws

• However, only one of those meetings has been in the knockout stage - Algeria progressed to the semi-finals in 2010 after extra time, winning 3:2

• The Desert Warriors have made it past the quarter-final stage just once since winning the tournament in 1990, the aforementioned win over Ivory Coast.

• The Elephants have made the knockout stage of the competition for the sixth edition in a row.

• Serge Aurier attempted the most dribbles in the group stage (20)

• Sofiane Feghouli was the only player to provide more than one assist in the group stage (2)

• These two sides conceded the most fouls in the group stage - Ivory Coast committed 74 fouls, Algeria 62

• Max Gradel has scored in four of his last five competitive games for the Elephants

 

 

31 Jan 2015
(BBC Sport UK)

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