Ivory Coast come into this tournament as the defending champions of the African title. After over 20 years of disappointments, they finally conquered the competition in the Equatorial Guinea.The hosts were vanquished 3-0 before Ghana were defeated in the final with the very last penalty of a 17-spot-kick marathon.
The major surprise is that they did it without talisman and record goalscorer Didier Drogba, who retired only months before. Now, they’re back in the tournament and will be looking to reclaim the African crown. With big sides like South Africa, Nigeria and the plucky Zambian minnows out of the tournament, it looks good. However, Egypt are back this time, and Ghana will be looking for revenge.
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Also read: 5 reasons Ghana can win the AFCON 2017
Will the Ivory Coast retain their crown for the first time in their history? Let’s take a look at why they just might.
#1 A superstar defence
The Ivorian back line boasts some of European club football’s best defenders in Lamine Kone, Serge Aurier and Manchester United’s Eric Bailly. These men will almost certainly feature quite frequently for Michel Dussuyer’s team. All of them are quite pacy and strong, and Bailly and Kone are frequent starters at the Premier League level. Aurier’s speed and versatility will surely trouble opponents at both ends of the pitch.
Depending on how Dussuyer decides to line up his troops, it will be interesting to see if teams try to attack them down the middle. With Bailly and Kone in top form for their respective club sides, teams may find it a very hard duo to break. With Aurier in there as well, a floating wing-back position would also be a tantalising prospect.
#2 Top-level experience
This squad might just have more experience than any other in the tournament. Other major giants like South Africa and Nigeria will be missing, which is also good news. The Egyptian squad is much changed from the African hat-trick winners of 2010.
With 3 World Cup appearances and 2 AFCON finals in recent years, Ivory Coast are easily one of the tournament’s top teams. They have not always been able to kill crucial games off, but that could also be down to a constant merry-go-round of managers.
This time around, they also have a manager who has taken a team to the business end of this competition. Dussuyer’s Guinea achieved their best ever result in 2004.
After their last campaign, however, the Ivory Coast will be feeling very confident about their chances.
#3 Fear factor
The Elephants have a squad of pacy, strong players, many of whom ply their trade in Europe. Although that has often afflicted them tactically in previous campaigns, it’s always a boost when other teams lack such star power. Ivory Coast have domestic and international champions in their squad.
Salomon Kalou, Eric Bailly, Serge Aurier and Wilfried Bony are now household names due to their brilliance on the big stage. Most teams would be a bit intimidated by their calibre of players. With the Elephant’s reputation for direct, fast football, many teams will look to sit back and invite pressure, which could play into the Ivorians hands.
#4 A multitude of dynamic forwards
Salomon Kalou is pacy, versatile and lethal from the wings. He heads very well and his playmaking skills were quite clear at Chelsea for years as he won a host of trophies. Now at Schalke, he’s already proven his quality numerous times. And he’s just one of the numerous versatile players the Ivorians can count on.
Wilfried Bony is a brilliant header of the ball and a fantastic frontman. He’s now at Stoke City after having been signed by Manchester City by Manuel Pellegrini. He can hold-up play brilliantly and is extremely tough to bully off the ball.
In Max Gradel, they have an efficient ball-player who will support the Ivorian attacks and look to play one-twos into the box, which will expertly complement Kalou’s skill-set. With Kodjia, Sia and Pepe as backups, the Ivorians should be able to field a relatively powerful front-line. And if all else fails, Dussuyer still has some aces up his sleeve.
#5 The joker in the pack
Wilfried Zaha. The ex-England youth international has now decided to play for the national team of his ancestry, and in what a season too. He’s started on fire with 6 goals and 4 assists in a Crystal Palace side that sacked manager Alan Pardew with the team struggling in 17th.
Now, he’ll be playing his international football in the orange shirt of the Ivory Coast. Just 23 and already a Premier League starter, Zaha could take this tournament by storm. For Dussuyer, it was an exciting coup to add to his already talented squad. The question now is - will Zaha turn on the style in his grandfather’s continent? Only time will tell!
