- Friday June 28, 2019
- Al Salam stadium, Cairo K.O 7pm (8pm EAT)
Herve Renard says Ivory Coast will always be in his memory ahead of the side’s meeting with Morocco in the second match in group D at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The French man won the title with the Elephants in 2015 but has since taken over the Atlas Lions and will be hoping for another routine decent result against them at the Al Salam stadium to seal a spot in the last 16.
“In my career I had the good fortune to be coach of this Ivory Coast team,” he told the pre-match press conference. “I’ve simply been lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and the Ivory Coast will always be a magnificent memory,” he added.
The tactician who has won the African title with two different nations also believes the past results won’t matter come Friday after he guided Morocco past Ivory Coast in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and also stopped their title defence in Gabon.
“The past doesn’t hold much importance. We have to focus on the game tomorrow which isn’t just any group game. I think the goal of the two teams is to go much further in the competition.
Herve Renard, Morocco coach
Both teams come into the game on the back of slim wins but Ivory Coast were wasteful against South Africa in the opener.
Highly rated Nicolas Pepe will be the main man for the Elephants along with Max Gradel and Jonathan Kodjia who netted the winner against Bafana Bafana.
Morocco will rely on playmaker Younes Belhanda, who missed the 1-0 win over Namibia due to injury and the promising Hakim Ziyech for inspiration.
