Huge international action gets underway this weekend, as the Africa Cup of Nations finally gets started in the Ivory Coast. The host nation will kick off the tournament on Saturday, as they bid to make a dream start when they take on Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan.
Africa Cup of Nations Preview
There is always massive pressure on the host nation of any major international tournament, and that will be the case once again for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024. The Ivory Coast haven’t won the tournament since 2015, and they will be among the leading contenders in the betting to end that long run at the start of this year.
Their performances in the tournament since winning the competition have been disappointing, as they have reached the quarterfinal stage on just one from three occasions. Meanwhile, they reached just the round of 16 stage in the 2021 edition of AFCON. But, they come into the tournament in excellent form, claiming a third straight success before the start of the competition when beating Sierra Leone 5-1 in early January.
Guinea-Bissau are already one of the stars of AFCON, as they upset all the odds to book their passage through to the major tournament. The African nation has now successfully managed to qualify for each of the last three major tournaments, but they are still yet to win a fixture at the Africa Cup of Nations.
They will be among the outsiders to gain qualification from Group A this year, and they come into the tournament after a disappointing recent performance in a friendly against Mali in early January. In that fixture, they conceded six goals, which was more than they had allowed in seven internationals in 2023.
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau Head to Head
This will only be the second time that these African nations have collided on the football pitch. The only previous meeting came in the West Africa Nations Cup in 2001, with the Ivory Coast landing a straightforward 4-1 success.
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau Prediction
The Ivory Coast appear to be one of the standout nations in the race for AFCON glory this year. We fully expect them to make a winning start to their home tournament on Saturday, and we could see them recording a 2-0 win.
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