The 2023 Afcon kicks off tonight with the hosts Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau in the opening match of the tournament.
The Group A encounter will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Kick-off is at 10 pm CAT.
On the only previous occasion that Ivory Coast hosted AFCON, they exited in the group stage (1984), so a win in this match would ease worries about them repeating that disastrous tournament finish.
And the Elephants also have another jinx to break as no hosts have won the tournament’s crown since Tunisia and Egypt both did it in back-to-back tournaments in 2004 and 2006.
Broadcast Details for Zimbabwe and South Africa
South African public broadcaster SABC confirmed they have secured the rights to broadcast all 52 matches of the Africa Cup of Nations live, as well as all CAF events in 2024.
The channel is available to watch in Zimbabwe via (DStv – South African accounts) and Open View.
DSTV’s SuperSport TV will also show the game live after securing the broadcasting rights this week.
State broadcaster ZBC got a sub-licence from New World TV to screen the tournamenton on a Free-to-air agreement.
Team news
Ivory Coast will go into the opening game of the tournament without Sebastien Haller as their Borussia Dortmund star striker recovers from injury.
Guinea-Bissau have no any reported injury worries heading into the opening match, and are likely to select a similar starting XI to that fielded in their warm-up match last weekend.
Squads:
Ivory Coast: Charles Folly, Yahia Fofana, Badra Ali Sangaré, Evan Ndicka, Wilfried Singo, Ousmane Diomande, Ismaël Diallo, Sèrge Aurier, Odilon Kossounou, Ghislain Konan, Willy-Arnaud Boly, Seko Fofana, Jean Seri, Franck Kessié, Idrissa Doumbia, Ibrahim Sangaré, Lazare Amani, Max Gradel, Jérémie Boga, Simon Adingra, Oumar Diakité, Jean-Philippe Krasso, Sébastien Haller, Jonathan Bamba, Christian Kouamé, Nicolas Pépé, Karim Konaté
Coach: Jean-Louis Gasset
Guinea-Bissau: Ouparine Djoco, Jonas Mendes, Fernando Embadje, Sori Mané, Marcelo Djaló, Fali Candé, Jefferson Encada, Edgar Ié, Opa Sanganté, Nanu, Prosper Mendy, Nito Gomes, Dálcio, Zidane Banjaqui, Janio Bikel, Moreto Cassamá, Mauro Rodrigues, Alfa Semedo, Famana Quizera, Carlos Mané, Mama Baldé, Marciano Sanca, Zé Turbo, Carlos Gomes, Zinho Gano, Franculino Djú
Coach: Baciro Candé
What the coaches said:
Ivory Coast’s Jean-Louis Gasset : “There are no small teams anymore. The aim is to get off to a good start but we need to make sure we respect the opposition.”
Guinea-Bissau’s Baciro Candé: “We find ourselves in a very tough group, a group of death, up against some very tough teams. The Ivorians play at a high level with players in the top leagues in Europe. It’s a big team from a big country. Nigeria are strong too and we also saw what Equatorial Guinea did at the last tournament.”
Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau Head to Head Stats:
This will be the first encounter between Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Outside the tournament, the teams have only met once before, when Ivory Coast produced a 4-1 win in a 2001 WAFU Nations Cup tie.
Form:
Cote d’Ivoire have recorded back-to-back wins in their last three competitive games while also keeping clean sheets.
Guinea-Bissau are winless in their three group-stage appearances in the AFCON thus far. They have drawn three games while suffering six defeats.