Africa Cup of Nations

Gervinho: 'Ivory Coast can win Africa Cup of Nations'

By Subhankar Mondal, Reporter | 19 January 2013

Gervinho admits that there is "massive" pressure on the Ivory Coast players to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, but insists that they are ready for the challenge.

Ivory Coast forward Gervinho is confident that his side can win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Elephants reached the final of the prestigious African competition last year but lost to Zambia in the penalty shootout.

"It's always special with the national team because you don't have much time to work as a team or have enough matches to play," Gervinho told Arsenal's official website. "But it's so important for the Ivorian people [to win the Africa Cup of Nations] that the pressure is massive.

"Everybody wants us to win and the expectations are immense. Everybody is in the stadium or in front of the TV and the whole country stops when we play. We have to stay focused and go all the way.

"All the big countries have pressure. As players we are used to it with our clubs. It's a different pressure because you can't make a mistake in a competition like the Africa Cup of Nations. Every year, we are strong. Last month, we played a friendly against Austria with a lot of new players and we won easily. So we have a lot of depth in our squad."

The Ivorians have been drawn in Group D against Tunisia, Algeria and Togo.