Gasset faces anxious wait for Ivory Coast last-16 place

Hosts Ivory Coast will likely find out on Tuesday night if they have secured a place in the last-16 of the Africa Cup of Nations following their humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A game that leaves their future participation in doubt.

It is the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a Cup of Nations host and also the biggest loss at home for the Ivorians pool and they must now hope to be among the best third-placed finishers from then group stages.

Coach Jean-Louis Gasset appears to have held onto his job for now, but that will surely change if his side do not advance, with their fate now out of their hands.

“It is a nightmare,” Gasset said. “We had prepared well for this match and we got into this match well by going after them and setting the pace.

“We had possession and opportunities, but we couldn’t score. On the other hand, the slightest mini chance for our opponents turned into a goal.

“In football, you have to be efficient. Equatorial Guinea gave us a lesson in realism.”

Gasset admits it will be an anxious wait for his side, who must now rely on the results of others.

“Do I still believe we can qualify? Obviously. We won one match out of three, we have people who are behind us. But when you wait for the results of others, that is not a good sign,” he said.

Should the Ivorians advance they will play either Cape Verde in the lastr-16, or the winner of Group C, which is likely to be Senegal.