Qualified for the quarter-finals of CHAN 2022, Côte d’Ivoire will face Algeria for a place in the last four. Soualiho Haidara, the coach of Ivorian football hopes his players can manage the atmosphere and make the Greens doubtful in front of an opponent who is easily carried by the public.
From the Nelson Mandela Stadium
Souhalio Haidara, coach of the local team of Côte d’Ivoire.
Côte d’Ivoire managed to get into the knockout stage. Algeria will be the opposite. How will it play the host country?
Souhalio Haidara: We reached a milestone that is similar to Algeria. The statistics of the group stage are in our favor. Three games, three wins. We know it will be a tough opponent so we are preparing accordingly. We are only trying to reach the semi-finals.
With three goals, you won the group stage. Do you think your team can keep this momentum going?
The language will remain the same. To keep the players focused, we talk to them. The goal is for the players’ performance to surpass that of Uganda. We don’t want them to feel under pressure.
You can also read about the same topic : CHAN 2022 – Souhalio Haidara’s list gets people talking
What is Algeria’s weak spot?
Algeria is a team which does not score well. It was evident in the group stage. We will not allow this goal to be a problem.
With the support of the public, the match will sell out. There are also climatic factors. How can you manage these parameters?
The only thing that can be managed is the minds and emotions of the players. Stress is an athlete’s enemy. You can turn stress into motivation. We can give our best when we are mentally prepared to face this environment.
What are the keys for the match?
Souhalio Haidara: Every coach would like to see his players start at 11 and finish at 11. We must avoid any gestures that could lead us to play numerically inferior. You will have to put on a performance. You will need to be lucid and also succeed in front of the goal. To win against Uganda, we used matches against Senegal (DR Congo) and Senegal (Senegal). We will need to be clear about set plays, as we have seen that Algeria has been a very successful team in this area. We will try our best to score first so we can see how the Algerian team reacts to this situation. They have never been in the lead, so it could upset them.
Source: sportnewsafrica