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Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae says his side felt “resurrected” at the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations after overturning a disastrous start to impressively reach the semi-finals.
The Elephants qualified from the group stage as one of the best teams in third place after defeats to Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria.
Fae was appointed to temporarily take charge of the team after coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked following the host nation’s disastrous start to the tournament.
Hosts Ivory Coast failed to secure automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the competition when they were beaten 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea in the final group game which saw the Frenchman sacked.
The team seems to have turned a corner since Fae took over and has now guided the side into the last four.
But Fae revealed: “I told the players we were dead after the Equatorial Guinea defeat and we rose again after the Morocco game against Zambia.”
That lifeline allowed Ivory Coast to stun defending champions Senegal and overcome 10-man Mali after extra time to set up a semi-final with DR Congo.
Fae admitted she experienced a whirlwind of emotions during the dramatic victory in Mali. “I had all the emotions running through my head, trying to think of the ideal replacements,” he said.
With the Elephants looking good after their write-off, Faé are taking nothing for granted ahead of facing DR Congo.
“When you get to the semi-finals, you’re playing high-quality teams, so we’ll prepare,” said the coach.
After the embarrassment of the group stage, Fae have produced a remarkable reversal of fortune.
His resurrected elephants are now just two games away from an incredible tournament win.