Ivory Coast vs Mozambique Prediction & Betting Tips (24 December)

Sacred in front of its public 2 years ago, Côte d'Ivoire begins the defense of its African champion title this Tuesday against Mozambique. The Ivorians did not particularly convince observers during the qualifiers by only taking 2nd place in their group behind Zambia and only ahead of Sierra Leone and Chad. On the other hand, the Elephants were more solid during the qualifiers for the next World Cup where they beat Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Burundi and Seychelles with a record of 8 wins for 2 defeats. In November, the Ivorians were beaten by Saudi Arabia in a friendly match 1-0 before recovering against Oman a few days later 0-2. Mozambique, for its part, has never been able to go beyond the group stage in this African Cup of Nations in 4 participations, the last of which dates back to 2023.

To qualify this year, this selection took 2nd place in its group behind Mali but ahead of Guinea-Bissau and Eswatini. However, it was more difficult during the qualifiers for the World Cup with a 3rd place behind Algeria and Uganda but ahead of Guinea, Botswana and Somalia. As a result, the Mambas will not play in the next World Cup. During the last meeting, Mozambique was beaten by Morocco 1-0 and was unable to defeat Chad 2-2 in 2 friendly matches.

The main absences to report for the Elephants are that of Nicolas Pépé (Villarreal, 52 sels, 11 goals) who was not selected for this competition and that of Haller (Utrecht, 35 sels, 11 goals) who withdrew, replaced by the former Niçois Evan Guessand (Aston Villa, 15 sels, 2 goals). Executive defender Singo (Galatasaray, 31st selection) is injured and is out of this CAN. The attackers Adingra (Sunderland, 26 sel, 4 goals) and Boga (Nice, 24 sel) and the defenders Akpa (Auxerre, 4 sel), Zogbé (Brest, 4 sel) and Junior Diaz (Brest, 1 sel) are also absent from the list. Conversely, we find executives on all lines like the goalkeeper Fofana (Rizespor, 29 sel), the defenders Kossounou (Atalanta, 30 sel), Ndicka (Roma, 23 sel), Boly (Nottingham Forest, 22 sel), Gbamin (Metz, 22 sel) and Doué (Strasbourg, 12 sel) and the midfielders Kessié (Al-Ahli, 96 sels, 15 goals), Seri (Maribor, 62 sels), Sangaré (Nottingham Forest, 52 sels, 12 goals), Zaha (Charlotte, 33 sels) and Fofana (Rennes, 26 sels, 7 goals). At the front, will be present in particular Krasso (Paris FC, 25 sels, 8 goals), Diomandé (Leipzig, 4 sels, 2 goals) and Diakité (Cercle Bruges, 25 sels, 6 goals). The group which makes up this formation from Mozambique is much less known to the general French-speaking public.

A large majority of the players present play in the country or in second-rate championships. However, there are still some interesting names to remember like the defenders Langa (Pafos, 33 sel) and Mandava (Sunderland, 44 sel), the veteran midfielder Domingues (102 sel, 16 goals) and the attackers Witi (Nacional, 41 sel, 4 goals) and Catamo (Sporting, 38 sel, 13 goals). Also note the presence of the former Rennais Mexer (Ankara, 63 sel). However, it is necessary to highlight the absence of defenders Nanani (26 sels) and Chico (41 sels), midfielder Pepo (13 sels, 2 goals) and striker Clesio (55 sels, 8 goals).