The 2023 AFCON gets underway on Saturday at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium. Cote d’Ivoire, the hosts of this continental tournament, is paired with Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea in Group A. The hosts are participating in the competition for the tenth time in a row; they were eliminated in the round of 16 by eventual runners-up Egypt in the previous edition, and they will be hoping to break that record this time around. Guinea-Bissau has qualified for the competition for the fourth time in a row. Interestingly, they have been eliminated from the group stage in the last three editions and will be hoping to advance to the knockout stage.
The teams played a friendly last week to get warmed up for the competition. The hosts defeated Sierra Leone 5-1 behind goals from Ousmane Diomande, Franck Kessié, Jonathan Bamba, Jeremie Boga, and Lazare Amani. The visitors fell short of Mali 6-2.
Head-to-head and Key Numbers: Cote d’Ivoire vs Guinea-Bissau The two teams have only played once, in the former 2001 West Africa Nations Cup. The hosts won 4-1. Since then, they have won three straight games and have only lost one of their previous nine games.
In this much awaited match, both sides will want to start their campaigns on a positive note. Still, Cote d’Ivoire is anticipated to benefit from home advantage.
We also predict them to win handily because of their superior form and edge in terms of team quality.
Prediction: Guinea-Bissau 1-3 Côte d’Ivoire #AFCON2023
