Al-Nassr and Ivory Coast midfielder Seko Fofana talked about representing his country in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ivory Coast kicked off their AFCON campaign in style earning a comfortable 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in their opening game last week.
The hosts took the lead from a Seko Fofana strike after four minutes before Jean-Phillipe Krasso doubled their advantage near the hour mark.
Having scored their first goal of the competition, Fofana expressed his delight to play in his first AFCON tournament at 28 years old.
“It’s a lot of pride,” Fofana told CAF. “I know how some of our nation’s great players always wanted to win this AFCON and unfortunately, there are some who did not win and when we have discussions with them, we see how much they really wanted it.
“My goal is to make sure everything goes well. But I think that participating in the AFCON and seeing all the excitement around this competition is an incredible feeling and also seeing people teasing each other on the social networks can also be funny at times.
“It’s a very good atmosphere, we are very good, we feel good at the hotel, there is good chemistry between the players and we are focused on preparing as best as possible for each meeting.
“I think we have to take it match by match. We shouldn’t put too much pressure on ourselves either. The most important thing is to have fun, perform well every time and let time tell us what will happen.
Trouble for the Elephants
Despite claiming a win in their opening game, Ivory Coast find themselves third in Group A after failing to earn wins over Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
Ivory Coast now find themselves on the brink of a shocking exit from the AFCON group stages but they must wait for other results to determine their fate.