Elephants target second win in Group G

Ivory Coast will chase a second win in Group G of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers when they face hosts Chad at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Tuesday night.

Kick-off is at 9pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Ivory Coast opened their campaign with a hard-earned 2-0 win over Zambia in Bouake on Friday night.

The Elephants were held goalless for over 70 minutes, before substitute Jean-Philippe Krasso scored a brace of goals to see them to victory.

“Yes, I got restless on the bench, but that doesn't mean I wasn't happy with my team,” said coach Emerse Fae.

“On the contrary, I was satisfied because we applied what we had worked on during the week.

“We knew that this Zambian team was going to play in a low block and that we were going to have possession of the ball.

“What we lacked were the last 30 metres, the last passes, the crosses and we lacked presence in front of goal. This is why we decided to bring in an additional attacker [Krasso] by replacing a midfielder.

“Jean-Philippe Krasso is a striker who needs to be in good physical shape to perform on the pitch. He is a diesel engine, he needs rhythm.”

Chad, meanwhile, opened their qualification campaign with a creditable 0-0 draw away to Sierra Leone in Monrovia, Liberia – though it was a third successive match without a win or a goal from Les Sao.

In head-to-head stats, this will be the first meeting of Chad and Ivory Coast.