AFCON 2025: Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae reveals approach for high-stake quarterfinals against Egypt

Head coach of Ivory Coast Emerse Fae has stressed his outfit will face Egypt with a lot of humility and focus in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Elephants swept aside Burkina Faso with a clean 3-0 victory in the last 16 clash on Tuesday, setting up a fiery quarter-final clash with the Pharaohs on Saturday, January 10, 2026.

"We will turn the page on what happened against Burkina Faso and start preparing for the Egypt match."

"We are working calmly, and that is what we will continue to do until the Egypt match. We will not get carried away with enthusiasm and we will not start talking about the title."

"We are not here to boast. We will play the match against Egypt with a lot of humility and focus."

"We will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Egyptian team, and we will simply try to impose our style."

"We had a clear objective before we came here, and it remains the same. We will continue to work in silence, progressing step by step, and taking it one game at a time."

"Mohamed Salah is a great player, but we will be playing against the Egyptian national team. Salah will not be playing alone, so we will not focus on him alone. We will focus on the Egyptian team as a whole. And we hope that we can reach the semi-finals."

"We don't look at the opponent who stands in our way. We have a goal, and if we want to go to the finish line, we have to be able to face any team."

While Ivory Coast seeks to defend the AFCON title in Morocco, the Egyptian national team intend to secure their eighth AFCON title in history.

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