Tournament starts now for Ivorians, says Renard

28 January 2015 09:01

Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard said the real Africa Cup of Nations started now for his team after a 1-0 win against Cameroon on Wednesday took them into the quarter-finals.

The Elephants can look forward to a last-eight showdown with Algeria after Max-Alain Gradel's first-half strike secured a 1-0 win against the Indomitable Lions and clinched first place in Group D.

"For a team like this the Africa Cup of Nations begins in the quarter-finals because to go out before is a failure," said the Frenchman.

"If you don't get through with a team like Cameroon or the Ivory Coast or Senegal you get the finger pointed at you.

"The Algeria game will be very difficult -- another one after a really tough group -- so there you go the competition begins now."

The Elephants have improved after a sluggish start that saw them play out 1-1 draws with both Guinea and Mali, and Renard added: "I said before this game that it's not necessary in a Cup of Nations to start too quickly because it's a very difficult competition and with players like this they are ready to compete and they love games like this.

"When you play Cameroon you don't have to try to find motivation especially when we lost 4-1 to them in September (in qualifying)."

Source: AFP