Di hopes of di host nation Cote d’Ivoire, dey rest for di shoulders of 27 players as dem ready to clash wit di leopards of DR Congo tonight for di Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium for Abidjan.
Dis na di second semi-final clash for di Afcon 2023 wey don already produce some shocking results from di group stage to dis point.
Cote d’Ivoire wey qualify for di knock out stage as one of di third place teams wit three points, don get plenti confidence now.
Dia last two ogbonge victory against defending champions Senegal for round of 16 wit Mali for di quarter final don show say dem fit go all di way.
Despite say dem sack dia coach Jean-Louis Gasset bifor di last group game, di elephants don dey win dia games.
Di leopards for DR Congo also don qualify for di knockout round wit three draws from di group stage.
Dem defeat record Afcon winners, Egypt on penalties for round of 16.
DR Congo waka pass di knockout stage wia dem beat Guinea for di quarterfinals.
Di elephants and di leopards go lock horns for grass at 20:00 GMT.
Coach of Ivory Coast, Emerse Faé know say dis na crucial match for di elephants.
Im tok for pre-match press conference say dem suppose avoid poor start to di game.
“For di last two games, we no start well, but for dis DR Congo game, we go carry di confidence for di last game enta.”
Faé also dey hope say im go fit reach di final.
“I neva win di Afcon as player wit dis kontri but I don hope say I fit win am as coach,” di interim coach add.
Already, four players go miss di game sake of suspension.
Dis players na captain Serge Aurier, Odilon Kossounou wey get red card for di last game, Oumar Diakité wey score di last minute winner vs Mali and Christian Kouame.
Despite dis absentees, di hopes of di host nation dey high.
“We go play as a team vs DR Congo, if we dey togeda, we go win togeda,” coach Emerse Faé tok.
For di players, di motivation don dey high.
Max Alain Gradel wey be one of di senior players tok say “we feel di support of di nation. E be extraordinary.”
Gradel say make pipo come di stadium for di game.
“We go give everitin for di game for our people. Dem deserve dis,” di Gaziantep forward add.
For DR Congo, Sébastien Desabre and im players know say di game go fit “bring joy” to dia pipo wey dey suffer violence back home.
“We wan make di pipo wey dey suffer, proud of us. Na our job be dat, we go try our best for di game.”
Desabre tok say, “we know di strengths and weakness of di Ivorian team and we go display sometin new tonight.”
Midfielder Charles Pickel say di game go be “game like no oda.”
“Dem get di crowd for di stadium but we go play our best game.”
Wetin dey at stake
DR Congo dey pursue dia first final for 50 years, since dem win di Afcon.
Before den, di Congolese don win di trophy for 1968.
Dem reach two semi-finals since den, but dem no reach di finals since 1974 wen dem win dia second trophy.
Di leopards lose 1-2 to South Africa for di 1998 semi-final wey dem lose 1-3 to Cote d’Ivoire for di 2015 final.
Di Ivorians don dey chase dia third Afcon title.
Despite say dis team no dey like di golden generation wit Drogba, di Toure brothers, Kalou and odas, dem get team wey fit repeat dia 1992 and 2015 title success.
Cote d’Ivoire wan also win di tournament for di home fans and for di investment wey dia goment don make for dis competition.
Team news
Di Congolese don get boost as former chelsea winger Gael Kakuta don dey fit to play.
Di winger miss di last-16 game wit Guinea sake of injury.
One of di key players, Yoane Wissa wey get slight knock for dia quarterfinal game don dey fit to play.
Apart from dis, DR Congo get all dia players available.
DR Congo Predicted XI: Lionel Nzau, Henock Baka, Samuel Moutoussamy, Theo Bongonda, Meschack Lina, Cedric Bakambu, Charles Monginda, Yoane Wissa, Chancel Mbemba, Gedeon Kyatengwa, Fuka Kawela
For Cote d’Ivoire, apart from di suspension of four players, di elephants get oda players especially di ones wey come on as substitute for di quarterfinal game.
Di coach go fit use Willy Boly for defence to replace Kossounou wey chop red card for dia last game vs Mali.
Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller also dey fit and im go fit start di game afta im play well for di last 40 minutes of di quarterfinal extra time win against Mali.
Cote d’Ivoire predicted XI: Yayhia Fofana, N’Clomande Konan, Jean Seri, Seko Fofana, Willy Boly, Franck Kessie, Adingra, Nicolas Pepe, Kouakou Kouampe, Obite Ndicka, Sebastian Haller
Head-to-head:
Dis go be di 15th time wey dis two teams dey face each oda.
Dis game be di repeat of di 2015 Afcon final wey Cote d’Ivoire win.
For dat game, Cote d’Ivoire win 3-1 wit goals from Gervinho, Wilfred Kanon and Yaya Toure.
From di 15 games wey dem play, Cote d’Ivoire don win six, DR Congo don win four and dem play five draws.
Who go win di sixteenth game between di two?
Unless we wait for 90 or 120 minutes for di Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium tonight.
Na dia di action go dey, live !
Una dey expect anoda shocker or dis na easy win?
Na time go tell. And di time don near.
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