After the heavy defeat of the Ivory Coast Elephants against Equatorial Guinea (4-0) during the last group match in group A of Afcon 2023, Ivorian coach Jean Louis Gasset presented himself at a press conference with a feeling of despondency. The French technician ended up naming the sole culprit of this slap received at home.
Ivory Coast disappointed everyone by losing miserably at home, 4-0 against Equatorial Guinea in the third match of the group stage of Afcon 2023. Jean Louis Gasset’s men, who had needing a victory to ensure qualification for the round of 16 of the competition, broke their teeth against the impressive Nzalang Nacional.
Having started strong against Guinea Bissau in the opening 2-0, Ivory Coast then bowed to Nigeria 1-0 and should win against Equatorial Guinea to advance to the next round. But on Monday, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men missed the opportunity to honor the Ivorian people and were unable to do anything against Emilio Nsué and his teammates. A defeat which condemns the Elephants to pray to benefit from one of the best third places in order to continue the competition.
Jean Louis Gasset names the culprit of the humiliation of the Elephants
After the heavy 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea, Jean Louis Gasset, coach of the Elephants spoke at a press conference. He highlighted the key moments of the match and regrets the opportunities missed by his team without forgetting the way in which the opponent was able to capitalize on the rare opportunities that presented themselves.
The French technician took full responsibility for this defeat. In any case, according to him, he is the sole culprit of this historic defeat against Equatorial Guinea.
“When you are a coach of a club or national team, you are responsible for the results. Today the result was catastrophic. So of course I am the first to be responsible,” he first explained.
Jean Louis Gasset explained that, in the life of a coach, there are moments when everything seems linked and when things turn into a nightmare. He highlighted the fact that despite the control of the game and the opportunities created by his team, the opponent managed to score on the rare chances he had.
“In life, there are sometimes matches that turn into nightmares, matches where everything seems linked. We conceded a goal in the first half on the opponent’s only opportunity, even though we had control of the game, we had opportunities, it’s already a bit hard. In the second half, the same scenario. We are dominant… the opportunities present themselves to us and it is ultimately the opponent who scores. We call it the disaster scenario,” added Jean Louis Gasset, Ivory Coast coach.
Still a tiny hope of qualification
Despite this severe defeat, Jean Louis Gasset tried to maintain a bit of optimism by discussing the situation in the rankings. With three points obtained thanks to their only victory, the Ivory Coast coach recalled that the four best third-placed teams qualify, leaving a tiny chance of qualification.
“We have three points, because we won a game. And as the four best third-place finishers are qualified, we will hope. We are waiting for the results of others,” tried to explain the former deputy of Laurent Blanc.
For now, Ivory Coast are a step ahead of Ghana, who end the group stage with just two points after two draws against Egypt and Mozambique. The Elephants will continue to follow the results of the other teams in order to get an idea of their future in this Afcon 2023.
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