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Ivory Coast U23 and Saudi Arabia U23 will trade tackles at Yokohama Stadium on the opening day of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 men's football tournament.
Ivory Coast secured their spot at the Olympics by virtue of their second place finish in CAF's qualifying tournament in 2019. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Egypt in the final but progressed nonetheless.
Saudi Arabia U23 also secured progress with a runner-up finish at the 2020 AFC U-23 tournament.
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The Green Falcons played out a goalless draw with Romania in their final preparatory friendly last week.
Germany U23 and Brazil U23 are the two favorites to qualify from Group D, making it imperative for Saudi Arabia and Ivory Coast to kickstart their campaign on a positive note.
Ivory Coast U23 vs Saudi Arabia U23 Head-to-Head
The two sides traded tackles in a friendly in October 2020 and could not be separated in a goalless draw.
Saudi Arabia U23 have played eight friendly fixtures this year and won just two.
Ivory Coast U23 form guide: N/A
Saudi Arabia U23 form guide: D-D-W-D-L
Ivory Coast U23 vs Saudi Arabia U23 Team News
Ivory Coast U23
Ivory Coast named their 22-man squad for the Olympic Games on 3 July 2021. The squad is headlined by three over-age players, with Eric Bailly, Franck Kessie and Max Gradel all there to provide guidance and experience.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Saudi Arabia U23
Saudi Arabia initially named a preliminary 24-man squad in June but the final 22-man squad was released on 6 July 2021.
Yasser Al-Shahrani, Salem Al-Dawsari and team captain Salman Al-Faraj are the three over-age players in the squad.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Ivory Coast U23 vs Saudi Arabia U23 Predicted XI
Ivory Coast U23 Predicted XI (4-3-3): Maxime Nagoli (GK); Silas Gnaka, Eric Bailly, Ismael Diallo, Wilfried Singo; Idrissa Doumbia, Franck Kessie, Eboue Kouassi; Max Gradel, Christian Kouame, Amad Diallo
Saudi Arabia U23 Predicted XI (4-4-2): Mohammed Al Rubaie (GK); Abdulbasit Hindi, Hamad Al-Yami, Saud Abdulhamid, Abdulelah Al-Amri; Mukhtar Ali, Ayman Al-Khulaif, Nasser Al-Omran, Ali Al-Hassan; Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Salem Al-Dawsari
Ivory Coast U23 vs Saudi Arabia U23 Prediction
Ivory Coast U23 are slight favorites in this game but their lack of preparatory fixtures might be detrimental to their chances. Saudi Arabia had enough warm-up games but failed to convince with their performances.
The presence of proven stalwarts like Bailly and Kessie gives Ivory Coast a further advantage. We are predicting a narrow victory for the West Africans, with goals to be scored at both ends.
Prediction: Ivory Coast U23 2-1 Saudi Arabia U23
Also See: Japan U23 vs South Africa U23 prediction, preview, team news and more | Tokyo Olympics 2020
