The head coach of the Cote D’Ivoire senior men’s national team, Jean Louis Gasset is not leaving anything to chance ahead of Thursday’s crunch encounter with Nigeria in the second group game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He believed that every game has its peculiar way of preparation and tactical awareness.
With the arrays of stars at Super Eagles disposal, Gasset hopes to get a win that will seal his team’s passage to the Round of 16.
“We need to control the ball better during our weak times,” Gasset told journalists during his pre-match press conference in Abidjan on Wednesday.
“We need to be better in transition and maintain the mindset because everyone is important. No one is left on the sidelines. We need to ensure that everyone has the same mindset whether they are starting or on the bench.
“The condition of the pitch was a bit dry due to the opening ceremony. We needed to remove all the equipment to have the players warm up. I hope that tomorrow we will have great turf.”
Favourites have been having tough times at the tournament with the likes of Nigeria, Algeria, and South Africa not winning their opening games.
“Every game has a different story. We saw that all of the favorite since the onset of the tournament have struggled.” He continued. “Each game has its own story. The time of the match has an impact. Playing by 5 pm might require several cautious. Nigeria can attest to that. Teams need to take their chances. If you don’t do that, you can get upset.”
On Haller, the coach gave an update on the state of his injury and recovery.
“Haller started training. The injury is healing. We are exactly on the timeline that we have set for the players to partake in the competition. We have another training session this evening. We will see with the physio to now if they can play.
“We had players that came in but were not in better physical condition. We need to be patient with those who are slowly coming back into the team and those coming back from injury. We have only played a game so it is immature to say a player is not playing well. Let us play more games to let them gain confidence. The games are tough psychologically. The players are more relieved and happy to have succeeded in the first game.
“I knew that Sekou would bring his contribution to the team. He has the mindset and desire to do well. Obviously, he is important as well as a lot of players are important. He is having a good spell and we hope he continues.” He concluded.
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