Africa champs look to extend winning run

by Stephane DeSaintsalvy

Sunday Mar 29, 2015. 11:33

Côte d’Ivoire will host Equatorial Guinea in Abidjan this Sunday, in the final friendly of their FIFA window’s campaign.

The Elephants kicked off their international journey with a 2-0 victory over Angola on Thursday, thanks to goals from Diarrassouba Viera and Salomon Kalou either side of half-time.

The win was sealed under extremely challenging weather conditions and Hervé Renard and his players will hope that the pitch of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium would have recovered ahead of their clash with the Nzalang.

The Ivoirians are aiming for a sixth consecutive victory against Argentinian manager Esteban Becker’s men, following wins over Cameroon, Algeria, DR Congo, Ghana and Angola.

Meanwhile, the hosts and semi-finalists of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations will be looking to bounce back in Abidjan, after suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Pharaohs of Egypt in Cairo.

The two sides have only met once in the past, with Côte d’Ivoire recording a 3-0 victory in the quarter-finals of the 2012 edition of Africa’s foremost competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

The Ivoirian football association (FIF) will also take this opportunity to honour freshly retired Copa Barry and Kolo Touré.

The game will kick off at 19h00 CAT.