Ivory Coast head coach Jean Louis Gasset says Bafana Bafana are on the same level and will provide the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations hosts with a stern test on Tuesday.
In what was the first competitive match played at Le Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny since being revamped, the home side produced an incredible display against Morocco.
Despite dominating large spells of the game, the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists managed to snatch a draw as Ayoub El Kaabi’s late goal cancelled out Sebastien Haller’s first-half strike.
The Atlas Lions head coach Walid Regragui admitted post-match they were lucky to secure a draw and with South Africa next on the agenda, Gasset is pleased with the challenge that they will provide at the same venue on Tuesday evening.
“Bafana Bafana and Côte d’Ivoire, and all the teams are on the same level in Africa, we will try to play with the same team, a strong team to progress towards AFCON [and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers],” he said after the 1-1 draw against Morocco.
“The match will be a good test for both teams, Bafana is a good team – I think that will play to push Côte d’Ivoire to play well and to progress. But they also have an advantage of having played on Friday, they will have an extra day of rest than us.”
South Africa and the West African giants will face off at the National Stadium at 21h00 (SA-time).
