 Drogba will lead the Ivorian tonight
TheElephants, held to a 0-0 draw by Burkina Faso in their opening match earlierthis week, would be on the verge of elimination if they lose at Cabinda'sChiazi Stadium. Withonly three teams in the group after Togo left the tournament in the wake of adeadly attack on their bus last week, Ivory Coast are desperate for a victory. Ghana,who were scheduled to start their campaign against Togo, have yet to play agame. "Thatis a disadvantage because we did not see them play and they have a young teamas they are missing a few important players", Ivory Coast coach VahidHalilhodzic told a news conference on Thursday. "Weare in a difficult situation, that's a fact. But we will just have to... stopwhining and win this game." Thetop two in each group go into the quarter-finals IvoryCoast, who will like the Black Stars qualified for this year's World Cup inSouth Africa, wasted a handful of chances against Burkina Faso and Halilhodzicis hopeful his strikers will find their range. "Thistime, we must be more efficient, more determined," he said, adding he hadreceived a word of support from the Ivorian president. "Iknow what he is expecting. Let's face it, we are under huge pressure." StrikerAruna Dindane added: "We fully know what the people of Ivory Coast expectand we are ready". Halilhodzic,who has not lost a competitive game since he took charge of the Elephants in2008, is determined to stay calm despite all the fuss. "Iknow that the people in Abidjan, in the whole country, are disappointed,"he said. "Weunderperformed in our first game, we have an obligation to do well in thesecond. The atmosphere within the squad is excellent, we are on the right path." |
