On Wednesday, the reigning champions of Africa, Ivory Coast, will start the defence of their title with a match against Mozambique. For the hosts, this is an opportunity to show that they are ready to defend their crown despite significant squad changes.
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast have one of the strongest squads at the tournament, but some unpleasant news arrived before the start. Sébastien Haller, who scored the winning goal at AFCON 2023, suffered a hamstring injury in the last round of the Eredivisie for Utrecht and will miss the tournament. His place has been taken by Aston Villa forward Evann Guessand. Cameroon may cause serious problems, but Mozambique should be beatable with almost any line-up. It is telling that Nicolas Pépé, who is not injured, has not even been included in the final squad.
Mozambique
This will be Mozambique's sixth attempt to record their first victory at the Africa Cup of Nations. The first came in 1986, the most recent in 2023. On that occasion they managed to earn two draws against Ghana and Egypt (2:2 in both matches). Against Ghana they had to come from behind, equalising in the 94th minute, while Egypt only escaped defeat thanks to a Mohamed Salah goal in the 97th minute. That still was not enough to reach the round of 16. The side essentially have two well-known players: defender Reinildo Mandava from Sunderland and winger Geny Catamo from Sporting CP in Lisbon.
Ivory Coast vs Mozambique Prediction
Can Mozambique do anything on the back of two players against a squad full of stars? Strict discipline might help: under Chiquinho Conde, the team have started to slow games down against top opponents, playing with five at the back. Their opponents will also be without one of their main strikers. We will go against Ivory Coast and back the underdogs with a +1.5 handicap.
