Having already secured qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations following Sierra Leone and Chad’s 1-1 draw in Group G, Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé has said his team will use the game against Zambia Friday at the Levy Mwanawansa stadium in Ndola to gain points on the FIFA ranking.
The Chipolopolo are currently second in Group G with 7 points, trailing the Elephants, who have 9, while Sierra Leone and Chad are third and fourth, with 4 and 2 points, respectively.
Zambia need to win in Ndola to qualify; a draw or loss, will mean the Chipolopolo will have to avoid defeat of more than 1-0 on Tuesday against Sierra Leone to secure a ticket to Morocco.
“As usual, we play every match to win,” Faé told a press conference in Ndola today. “We’re coming off a defeat (1-0 against Sierra Leone) that made us lose a lot of FIFA ranking points. And for us, as we already have qualification in the bag, the objective now is to remain among the six best African teams to be seeded and regain our place as the fourth African team in the FIFA rankings. So it will take a bit of time because it’s easy to go down, but it’s difficult to go up, but no, the objective is to win and climb the FIFA rankings and be seeded for the next draw.”
Faé wants redemption from previous losses
Ivory Coast suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Sierra Leone in their most recent match, and Faé hopes to recover from that humiliation when they face Zambia.
The last time Ivory Coast visited Zambia, they were defeated 3-0 in Ndola during the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, but they made amends in September this year by defeating the Chipolopolo 2-0 in Bouaké.
Heading into Friday’s clash, Faé emphasized that his team will not be complacent despite having already qualified.
“We won’t go into the match as a qualified team, because for Ivory Coast, that’s the least we could do. We approach the match as a team that lost its last match and as a team that lost three-nil on its last visit here,” he said.
READ MORE: Grant Explains Defense Partnership Dilemma Ahead of Ivory Coast Clash
