Ivory Coast, the reigning champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), will open their title defense on Wednesday with a group F clash against Mozambique in Marrakech.<\/p>\n
The encounter marks the first match in group F and will be followed later in the evening by another high-profile fixture between Cameroon and Gabon. Kick-off for the Ivory Coast\u2013Mozambique game is scheduled for 6:30 pm local time.<\/p>\n
The Elephants are chasing a fourth continental crown after lifting the trophy in 2023 on home soil. That triumph saw Ivory Coast overcome Nigeria 2\u20131 in the final, a victory that restored pride and confirmed the team\u2019s status among Africa\u2019s football elite.<\/p>\n
Head coach Emerse Fa\u00e9 said ahead of the tournament that his squad is confident and fully focused on defending the title, while acknowledging the pressure that comes with being champions.<\/p>\n
Mozambique, meanwhile, enter the tournament as underdogs but with clear ambitions. The Mambas have participated in the AFCON five times and have never progressed beyond the group stages. However, the team has signaled its intention to challenge expectations and make a deeper run in the competition.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s fixture is expected to test Ivory Coast\u2019s readiness early in the tournament, while offering Mozambique an opportunity to make a statement against one of Africa\u2019s most decorated sides.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ivory Coast, the reigning champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), will open their title defense on Wednesday with a group F clash against Mozambique in Marrakech. The encounter marks the first match in group F and will be followed later in the evening by another high-profile fixture between Cameroon and Gabon. Kick-off for<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22],"tags":[2498,1121,366],"class_list":{"0":"post-14813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-sports","9":"tag-afcon-2025","10":"tag-morocco","11":"tag-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n