Alexandria - Murad Teyeb: Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) president Jacques Anouma insisted that their qualification to the African Cup of Nations (ACN) semi-finals was a source of pride for the African teams which qualified to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. “The Ivorians played their best match in front of Cameroon, which gave them a much-needed morale boost before the highly-anticipated semi-final,” Anouma told Filgoal.com exclusively on Monday. Ivory Coast, who edged the Indomitable Lions into the African Cup semis after a dramatic 12-11 shoot-out in their quarter-finals draw, will next face Nigeria on Tuesday in Alexandria. “Undoubtedly the players gave their best in the match, and beating a strong team like Cameroon deserves to be praised,” Anouma added. Ivory Coast are the only team remaining, from the five teams that qualified to the World Cup finals, who are still fighting for the African Cup. Togo, Angola and Ghana exited the continent's most prestigious tournament from the first round, while defending champions Tunisia departed from the round-of-eight at the hands of Nigeria.
