Will Côte d’Ivoire defend their lead in the standings?
In Europe, ten teams will already have a fixed ticket for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after this international break. In Africa, on the other hand, there are still no sure World Cup participants in the November double, but only ten teams that will be allowed to compete in the final qualifying round. Only three teams have already been determined as group winners. In Group D, Côte d’Ivoire has the best chances. On Saturday evening, the Ivorians will host their opponents from Mozambique.
In the current standings, Côte d’Ivoire has a one-point lead over runners-up Cameroon and on Tuesday the two World Cup contenders will face each other in a direct duel. The main goal for head coach Patrice Beaumelle’s team is to maintain their good starting position. There is little doubt about this, as maximum betting odds of 1.24 are being offered for a home win in the clash between Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique.
The underdogs from Mozambique have so far been low on points in Group D and have only one meagre point to show for their efforts. However, the team picked up this point in the first leg against Côte d’Ivoire, so another point would be a big surprise. The match kicks off on Saturday evening at 8 p.m.
Ivory Coast – Statistics & current form
The Ivorian national football team made three consecutive appearances at the World Cup finals between 2006 and 2014, but were knocked out in the preliminary round on each occasion. At the last World Cup in Russia, Morocco were already too big for them in the qualifiers.
Ten international matches without defeat
A few years ago, Côte d’Ivoire still had absolute world-class players in their own ranks in Didier Drogba or Yaya Toure and were understandably among the best teams on the continent. However, missing out on the 2018 World Cup was not necessarily surprising, as there are now teams in Africa that have even more quality to offer.
Yet the team of head coach Patrice Beaumelle cannot be reproached in recent months. Under the French head coach, “Cote d’Ivore” has gone from success to success. The last defeat dates back to 13 October 2020, when a friendly match against Japan was lost 1-0.
Since then, there have been ten international matches, of which Côte d’Ivoire left the pitch as winners seven times and achieved three draws. In both the qualifiers for the upcoming Africa Cup and the World Cup qualifiers, Côte d’Ivoire are in first place in their group.
Haller in top form
The Ivory Coast now lacks a standout world star like Didier Drogba was. Nevertheless, the squad is still peppered with several players who are causing a stir in the European leagues. In particular, the former Frankfurt player Sebastian Haller has been in impressive form in recent weeks. The striker collected 19 points in 17 competitive games in 2021/22.
At first glance, given the differences in quality between Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique, the prediction of a big win for the favourites seems obvious, but big wins are relatively rare in Africa.
Predicted line-up of Ivory Coast:
Gbohouo – Kamara, Kossounou, Boly, Aurier – Sangare, Kessie – Boga, Junior Traore, Pepe – Haller
Last matches played by Côte d’Ivoire:
World Cup Qualifiers CAF – 2nd Round – Grp. D
10/11 2021 – Côte d’Ivoire 2 – 1 Malawi
10/08 2021 – Malawi 0 – 3 Côte d’Ivoire
09/06 2021 – Ivory Coast 2 – 1 Cameroon
09/03 2021 – Mozambique 0 – 0 Côte d’Ivoire
Friendly match
06/12 2021 – Ghana 0 – 0 Côte d’Ivoire
Mozambique – Statistics & current form
In fact, a former world star also has his roots in Mozambique. We are talking about Eusebio, who played for Portugal, as Mozambique was a Portuguese colony until 1975. Otherwise, there are no well-known footballers from this country of almost 30 million inhabitants. The national team has never participated in the World Cup, and Mozambique has only been represented at the Africa Cup four times. Since 2010, however, the federation has also been waiting for a final round at continental level.
Fourth place at the South African Championship
The international match in Côte d’Ivoire will be Mozambique’s 13th international match this calendar year. The South African championship, the COSAFA Cup, was still being played in the summer. The no-name team finished in a strong fourth place.
This was one of the few success stories, because otherwise the results are sobering. Both in the qualifiers for the upcoming Africa Cup and in the current World Cup qualifiers, the team of head coach Chiquinho Conde had no chance whatsoever to advance successfully.
At the COSAFA Cup, however, hardly any European legionnaires played, even among the bigger teams. Mozambique also has kickers who earn their money on the European continent. Although for the most part they play a subordinate role in Portugal. The only exception is Reinildo Mandava from French champions OSC Lille. Behind the 27-year-old, however, there is a huge gap.
Mozambique is considered a pure no-name team that contributes very little to the game. Rather, the players are busy with defensive tasks to make the space as tight as possible for the opponent. The games are by no means attractive. Due to the match philosophy, both a tip on “Both teams meet: No” as well as “Ivory Coast win by nil” can be derived.
Predicted line-up of Mozambique:
Ernan – Martinho, Bonera, Malembana, Fidel – Mandava, Shaquille, Kambala, Catamo – Dayo Antonio, Miquissone
Last matches played by Mozambique:
WM CAF Qualifiers – 2nd Round – Grp. D
10/11 2021 – Mozambique 0 – 1 Cameroon
10/08 2021 – Cameroon 3 – 1 Mozambique
09/07 2021 – Malawi 1 – 0 Mozambique
09/03 2021 – Mozambique 0 – 0 Côte d’Ivoire
COSAFA Cup Final Stage
07/18 2021 – Eswatini (4)1 – 1(2) Mozambique
Côte d’Ivoire – Mozambique Direct Comparison / H2H Record
For the first time in more than a decade, these two teams face each other in the ongoing qualifiers. The big underdogs from Mozambique earned a goalless draw against the heavy favourites in their first qualifier. It was the second time in their sixth meeting that Mozambique managed a draw, with the favourites winning each of the remaining four matches.
Ivory Coast – Mozambique tip
David versus Goliath duels are relatively common in Africa, as the differences in quality are sometimes enormous. Nevertheless, it can always be seen that a favourite has an unusually hard time, especially when it has to play away from home. The Ivory Coast had to experience this first-hand in the first leg in Mozambique, when they missed out on victory. On Saturday night, however, three points are a must if they are to go into the final showdown against the indomitable Lions of Cameroon as league leaders.
In the clash between Ivory Coast and Mozambique, betting on a home win is not lucrative. However, betting on HT/FT 1/1 is more interesting. Ivory Coast have been scoring regularly in the first half of matches lately, while Mozambique have been conceding early goals time and again. Between Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique, odds of 1.80 are offered for this bet, for which a stake of six units is selected
