Former Ivory Coast international Emmanuel Eboue has credited interim coach Emerse Fae for bringing a “positive atmosphere” to the Elephants after upheaval in the dugout during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The West Africans sacked boss Jean-Louis Gasset after a third-placed finish in Group A left the hosts on the brink of exiting the tournament.
But, after progressing as one of four best third-placed sides and a failed bid to have Herve Renard return as coach, Fae guided Ivory Coast to a place in the quarter-finals by beating holders Senegal on penalties in the last 16.
“Our country normally doesn’t need any coaching because all the players are good,” ex-Arsenal defender Eboue stated.
Ivory Coast will now play Mali in the quarter-finals in Bouake on Saturday (17:00 GMT).
After a couple of days of uncertainty where the Elephants needed results in other groups to go their way to progress to the knock-out stages, Eboue thinks the squad now have a clean slate.
“When I spoke to the players before, they were all really down,” Eboue, 40, said.
“When Morocco beat Zambia, it meant we qualified for the second round and we were so, so happy.
Ivory Coast is now banking on home support to beat Mali in deadly clash.
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