GUINEA-BISSAU head coach Baciro Cande believes his side can qualify for the knockout rounds of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) despite being in the same group as the Super Eagles of Nigeria and hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
Cande says he is not intimidated by the presence of the heavyweights as he eyes his country’s first-ever progress out of the group phase.
The Djurtus became the second squad to arrive in Cote d’Ivoire yesterday after Morocco for the tournament set to kick off on Saturday, and Cande was brimming with confidence.
“Our goal is to finally get past the first round. It’s true that our group is very tough with opponents like Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea, but anything is possible in football, anything is possible,” Cande told CAFOnline upon his squad’s arrival in Abijdan.
Guinea-Bissau are the lowest-ranked team in their group with their 103rd spot in the FIFA ranking and face Cote d’Ivoire in the tournament’s opening match on Saturday.
Still, Conde has belief in his and his players’ abilities to be competitive in the tough-looking group.
“I’m used to it; the first competition I participated in, we played the opening match against Gabon, and we drew (1-1),” he noted.
“I know that Côte d’Ivoire is stronger than Gabon, but Guinea-Bissau will do its job, slowly.”
The Djurtus will be making their fourth appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations and Cande was the first coach to qualify his country for the most prestigious sporting event in Africa in 2017.
The 56-year-old will also be making his fourth appearance in the tournament as Guinea-Bissau head coach.
Saturday’s opening match will be the second experience of Guinea-Bissau in playing in the opening match of the competition after featuring in the opening game of the 2017 edition in Gabon with Candé in charge.
Guinea-Bissau will face Equatorial Guinea in their second match on January 18, before battling the Super Eagles on January 22 to round off the group stages.
