Published:
Saturday, 10 January 2026

Côte d’Ivoire defenders Christopher Operi and Willy Boly have expressed confidence and determination ahead of their highly anticipated quarter-final clash against Egypt, as the Elephants continue their pursuit of their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations title defense in Morocco.

Speaking to CAFOnline, Operi highlighted the focus and belief within the Ivorian camp as preparations intensify for Saturday’s crunch encounter against the seven-time African champions.

“We’re preparing well. Since the start of this AFCON, we’ve been very focused. We know that we have the capability to achieve great things this year. Our objective is to take it game by game, and against Egypt, the most important thing is to qualify.”

The defender underlined Côte d’Ivoire’s methodical approach, stressing that the team is fully committed to its preparation plan as it gears up for another major test.

“We are always ready. We will have our training session and prepare well. We’ve already started studying Egypt specifically. The objective is to win the match and continue the adventure we’ve started,” he added.

Teammate Willy Boly echoed those sentiments, acknowledging the quality of the opposition while emphasizing the reigning champions’ readiness to rise to the challenge.

“It’s true that we’re facing a good team, but at this stage of the competition, there are only big matches against top teams. What we want is to apply what we’ve worked on over the past few years and in recent training sessions. The focus is on executing our tactics and preparation as effectively as possible.”

With a place in the semi-finals at stake, Boly made it clear that qualification remains the sole objective for the defending champions.

“We have one objective, which is to win this AFCON for the second time in a row. It’s a very difficult challenge, and Egypt stands in our way. We want to qualify, no matter how. With the strength of our group and the work we’ve done, we hope it will pay off.”

Kick off at the Grand Stade d’ Agadir is at 20h00 Local Time.