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Ivory Coast and South Africa open their respective Africa Cup of Nations 2019 bids against each other on June 24, 2019, at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
The Elephants and Bafana are among the teams that are in Group D of the tournament. Joining them in their group are Morocco and Namibia. The top two teams at the end of the group stage will advance to the Knockout Round of 16 along with the best four third-placed teams. The winner of Group D will take on the best third placer from Group B/E/F while the runners-up of Group D will face the Group E winners in the next round. Meanwhile, should the third placer of this group advance to the knockout stage, they will play the winners of Group B in the next round.
Ivory Coast (Group D)
Ivory Coast will be making their 23rd appearance in this tournament. They qualified by finishing second in Group H of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tournament. The Les Elephants have won the AFCON twice in their history and have finished in at least the quarterfinals in six out of the last seven AFCON tournaments.
- Goalkeepers: Sylvain Gbohouo (TP Mazembe/COD), Tape Ira (San Pedro), Ali Badra (Free State Stars/RSA)
- Defenders: Serge Aurier (Tottenham/ENG), Mamadou Bagayoko (Red Star/FRA), Cheikh Comara (Wydad Casablanca/MAR), Wonlo Coulibaly (ASEC Mimosas), Souleymane Doumbia (Rennes/FRA), Wilfried Kanon (ADO The Hague/NED), Ismaël Traore (Angers/FRA)
- Midfielders: Victorian Angban (Metz/FRA), Serey Die (Neuchatel Xamax/SUI), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Mainz/GER), Franck Kessie (AC Milan/ITA), Ibrahim Sangare (Toulouse/FRA), Jean-Michaël Seri (Fulham/ENG)
- Forwards: Roger Assale (Young Boys Bern/SUI), Wilfried Bony (unattached), Maxwel Cornet (Lyon/FRA), Max-Alain Gradel (Toulouse/FRA), Jonathan Kodjia (Aston Villa/ENG), Nicolas Pepe (Lille/FRA), Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace/ENG)
South Africa (Group D)
South Africa will be appearing for the 10th time in Africa Cup of Nations history. The Bafana-Bafana finished as Group E runners-up in the qualifying tournament. South Africa missed nearly two decades of this tournament due to the Apartheid ban. On their second try since reinstatement, they won the 1996 AFCON but have failed to qualify in three out of the last five editions of this intercontinental event.
- Goalkeepers: Bruce Bvuma (Kaizer Chiefs), Darren Keet (Bidvest Wits), Ronwen Williams (SuperSport Utd)
- Defenders: Sifiso Hlanti, Thulani Hlatshwayo, Buhle Mkhwanazi (all Wits), Daniel Cardoso, Ramahlwe Mphahlele (both Chiefs), Innocent Maela (Orlando Pirates), Thamsanqa Mkhize (Cape Town City)
- Midfielders: Hlompho Kekana, Tiyani Mabunda, Themba Zwane (all Mamelodi Sundowns), Dean Furman (SuperSport), Thembinkosi Lorch (Pirates), Kamohelo Mokotjo (Brentford/ENG), Thulani Serero (Vitesse Arnhem/NED), Bongani Zungu (Amiens/FRA)
- Forwards: Lebogang Maboe, Sibusiso Vilakazi (both Sundowns), Lebo Mothiba (Strasbourg/FRA), Percy Tau (Royal Union St Gilloise/BEL), Lars Veldwijk (Sparta
Who Wins?
The Elephants head to Egypt having won four out of their last five matches. This team defeated Rwanda, Liberia, Comoros Islands, and Zambia by a combined score of 11-2. On the other hand, the Bafana have three wins against one draw and one loss in their last five games. They held Ghana to a scoreless draw last June 15th but a cause of concern is the fact that they scored just a total of four goals in those five matches while giving up an aggregate of five.
Ivory Coast has one of the strongest squads in the tournament and that’s why they are the soccer betting favorites to win this fixture. When we talk about the Elephants, the names of Eric Bailly, Serge Aurier and Wilfried Zaha, and Yaya Toure stand out. But aside from those stars, this squad has many other players who play all over Europe.
South Africa’s journey back to the AFCON wasn’t easy in the qualifiers. But beating Libya away from home showed the grit of this squad and their ability to deliver when needed most. Without a star-studded team on paper, their defense was their calling card as the Bafana gave up only two goals during the qualifiers.
Ivory Coast’s road to the AFCON wasn’t impressive at all. They didn’t win a group which they were touted to dominate. The Elephants won just once away from home and in three such games during the qualifiers, they scored just three goals. Their scoring woes were featured again during a 0-1 loss to Uganda in a friendly last June 15th. But in their final tune-up match against Zambia, the Elephants scored four goals as if to appease their worried supporters. I think Ivory Coast has this match. Their line-up is much too superior and all they need to do is get their act together. I think they achieved that in their last match. Prediction: Ivory Coast
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