Ivory Coast vs Mozambique Tips & Preview - Champions to begin title defence with comfortable win

By Tolu Shotade

2 hours ago

Tolu Shotade 2 hours ago

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Ivory Coast defend AFCON title with Group F opener against Mozambique.
The Elephants aim for a strong start despite missing Sebastien Haller.
Mozambique has never progressed past the group stage in AFCON.

Ivory Coast vs Mozambique

Ivory Coast begin their AFCON title defence with a Group F clash against Mozambique.

The Elephants come into this tournament in good form and will be confident of navigating a difficult group. They should have too much quality for the Mozambicans, who are struggling at the moment.

Ivory Coast News

Ivory Coast come into this tournament as defending champions after winning their third AFCON title in 2024. They have retained much of the squad from that tournament, although striker Sebastien Haller, who scored the winning goal in the final, has been ruled out with injury.

The Elephants have looked sharp lately, winning three of their last four matches across all competitions. Emerse Fae’s team claimed a 2-0 victory over Oman in a friendly back in November.

Even without Haller, the Ivory Coast boast enough attacking quality and have won by two or more goals in three of their last four matches. They have scored over 1.5 goals in three of those four matches while also leading at the break in all three fixtures.

Mozambique News

Mozambique have made five previous appearances at the AFCON, failing to progress beyond the group stage in any of them. They failed to earn a single win in the 2024 edition and will be keen to get things right in this one.

The Mambas were decent in qualifying, finishing second behind Mali after picking up three wins from six matches. Chuquinho Conde’s team are also struggling at the moment and are winless in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions.

Mozambique often struggle defensively, a trait that has seen them suffer a few heavy defeats lately. Among their results is a 4-0 defeat to Uganda in the World Cup qualifiers, while they were also beaten 4-1 by Angola in their final warm-up game before the tournament.

Head to Head

Ivory Coast have never lost in this fixture, claiming four wins and two draws from six previous matches against Mozambique. The most recent meeting was a 2022 World Cup qualifier, which ended 3-0 in favour of the Ivorians.

Verdict

Ivory Coast v Mozambique

Ivory Coast come into this tournament in good form and also boasts a solid record in this fixture. With Mozambique suffering a few heavy defeats lately, the Elephants could be backed in the handicap market.'

The Ivorians have no problems in attack, and having scored over 1.5 goals in three of their last four matches, a repeat is expected here. They have also led at the break in those three fixtures and could be set for a first-half win here.

Ivory Coast -1

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