Ahmad Saied & Ahmed Maher: Ivory Coast pivotal players said they were sure of beating Nigeria and wish Egypt can win Senegal to replay the host nation in the African Cup of Nations final. Both teams advanced from Group A, with the 'Pharaohs' snatching the first spot followed by World Cup side Ivory Coast as runners-up. "Although Nigeria game will be as tough as Cameroon's we are sure of reaching the final," Ivory Coast vice-captain Cyril Domoraud told FilGoal.com after their dramatic 13-12 victory over Cameroon. Domoraud, who earned his first international cap 11 years ago, sees Senegal as favorites for booking a final berth but wishes Egypt can make the surprise. "As for me, Senegal are a very good team and they have better chances to beat Egypt in the semis. "But I wish Egypt can win this game because playing the final match before the enthusiastic home crowd will be much better than playing into an empty stadium," the 35-year-old midfielder added.
Didier Zokora Not only Domoraud who is keen on taking on Egypt, as instrumental playmaker Didier Zokora had the same wish but for a totally different reason. "I can't wait until we face Egypt again, we want to take revenge after losing to them in the preliminaries," Zokora told FilGoal.com. Ivory Coast were handed their only defeat in the tournament by Egypt, losing 3-1 in and being forced into the path of Cameroon, an encounter both didn't want to go through as early as the last eight. But the Saint-Etienne star hasn't these feelings for Egypt alone. "Our victory over Cameroon was so important because we lost to them twice in the World Cup qualifiers, we needed to show the world that we deserved to go to Germany," he said. Both semi-finals ties will be played on Tuesday, with Ivory Coast facing Nigeria in Alexandria while Egypt host Senegal in capital Cairo.
