Didier Drogba and Gasset unhappy at record AFCON defeat

Follow Us Now!

Former Ivorian international Didier Drogba and Ivory Coast’s coach Jean-Louis Gasset seemed disappointed following the Elephants’ 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea during an AFCON match yesterday.

The country had never suffered such a defeat since the beginning of the African tournament, and might take a disgraceful exit though the host of the competition.

Apart from the fact that their key goal scorer Sébastien Haller is sidelined due to an injury, the team also seems to have the problem of disunity among three important players. Their failure to collaborate has cost the team chances and might cost them the tournament if the trend is retained.

A former ace of the team, Didier Drogba, spoke to La Nouvelle Chaine Ivorienne following the Elephants’ underwhelming performance.

‘We have to get back to work, to ask the right questions and make the right decisions.

‘A nation like Ivory Coast cannot organise a competition and be eliminated as early as they have today. There’s a real problem here.’

But coach Jean-Louis Gasset defended himself and the team in his statement to Canal+.

‘It’s a nightmare,’ he said. ‘We prepared the match well, we had chances, but we weren’t able to take them. By the contrary, the slightest chance for them resulted in a goal.

‘We had planned to go out and score, but we weren’t able to score. The opponents gave us a lesson in realism.’

What remains for the team is to wait for other teams in the mix whose matches would decide the Elephants’ fate.

‘We need to wait, and when you have to wait on the results of others, you know it’s not a good sign,’ said Gasset.

‘We did win one game, so we hope to be among the four best third-placed qualifiers.’