Niger out to deny Ivory Coast top spot

Niger will square off with Ivory Coast in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualification Group K match at the Stade Général Seyni Kountché in Niamey on Friday.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

The Menas are determined to record their second victory in Group K having suffered a 3-0 defeat to Ethiopia away in the previous qualifier in November 2020.

Niger are placed fourth on the group standings - six points behind leaders Ethiopia with two matches left in their qualifying campaign.

Jean-Michel Cavalli, the Niger head coach, is keen to guide his side to a win over Ivory Coast and he also looking forward to their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

"After our 1-0 success against Ethiopia [at home], a victory against Ivory Coast next March would allow us to consider a decisive match against Madagascar for the next African Cup of Nations which will be played in Cameroon," Cavalli said on Corse Martin.

"For the World Cup qualifiers, Djibouti and Burkina Faso will be our first opponents, who remain within our reach, and we can offer ourselves a final against Algeria that I know by heart, with the first leg in Niger, even if the Fennecs are very respected today in the world of football."

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast are targeting nothing but a victory when they face Niger having been held to a 1-1 daw by Madagascar away in their previous qualifier in November 2020.

The Elephants are placed second on the group standings - two points behind leaders, Ethiopia, but the former have a game in hand which is against Niger.

Patrice Beaumelle, the Ivory Coast head coach, confirmed that experienced attacker Gervinho will miss their crunch games against Niger and Ethiopia due to an injury.

“I had taken care to make a group of 26 players because there was uncertainty about Gervais' physical condition. Gervinho, unfortunately, will leave the group today. He returns to Parma, his club, to finish his return from injury," Beaumelle said.

“He had injured himself about 10 days ago with his club, and I had asked the player and also the club to make the effort to release him to us so that we could benefit from him on the two matches of 26 and 30 March so he arrived last weekend. We went through training. We realised that he was not ready yet.

The previous match between Niger and Ivory Coast was in November 2019.

Ivory Coast emerged 1-0 winners in the 2022 Afcon qualifier Group K match at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in the Ivorian city of Abidjan.