Ivory Coastvs.Burundi

The Elephants have failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, with the team instead building towards the Africa Nations Championship, which will begin in the middle of January.

Match preview

Ivory Coast were present in the 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions of the World Cup, but they failed to qualify for the finals in 2018 and will also not compete in the 2022 competition.

The Elephants finished second behind Cameroon in Group D, which saw them fail to qualify for the finals, but they will be present at the Africa Nations Championship, which is due to get underway in the middle of January.

Ivory Coast will take on DR Congo, Uganda and Senegal in the group stage of the competition, while the quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place at the end of January, before the third-place playoff and final on February 3 and February 4 respectively.

Jean-Louis Gasset's side played two friendlies towards the end of September, overcoming both Togo and Guinea, and they will play twice more this month against Burundi and Burkina Faso.

Ivory Coast are actually unbeaten since a 3-0 loss to England in a friendly back in March, and they will be looking for victories in their next two friendly matches before returning to competitive action in the Africa Nations Championship, with their first game scheduled against Senegal on January 14.

Burundi, meanwhile, have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, but they were present in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, being eliminated in the group stage of the competition.

The national side will not feature in the upcoming African Nations Championship, although they were present in the 2014 edition of that tournament, recording one victory in three games.

Jimmy Ndayizeye's side will be back in competitive action against Namibia next June, as they continue their qualification campaign for the next Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Ivory Coast have won their last four matches against Burundi, including a 2-1 victory when they last locked horns in October 2011 during qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ivory Coast form (all competitions):

L

L

W

D

W

W

Burundi form (all competitions):

L

L

D

L

Team News

Ivory Coast have a strong squad available for this match, with plenty of familiar names set to take to the field for the Elephants in Wednesday's friendly.

Crystal Palace attacker Wilfried Zaha is set to feature in the final third of the field, with the 29-year-old potentially being joined by Max Gradel and Nicolas Pepe in a front three.

Jean Michael Seri, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Ibrahim Sangare could feature as the midfield three for the first whistle, while Nottingham Forest's Serge Aurier is set to feature at right-back.

As for Burundi, there is not too much experience in the current squad, and a number of players will be hoping to make their debuts for the national side in this contest.

Jospin Nshimirimana has scored eight goals in nine appearances for the national side, and the 20-year-old is set to feature in a midfield area on Wednesday.

Mohamed Amissi is yet to find the back of the net in 17 caps for his country, but the 22-year-old, who plays his club football for Roda JC in the Netherlands, is set to feature in the final third of the field.

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

B Sangare; Aurier, Konan, Diomande, Singo; I Sangare, Gbamin, Seri; Pepe, Zaha, Gradel

Burundi possible starting lineup:

Nahimana; Nduwarugira, Nsabiyumva, Ramazani, Ndayishimiye; Bigirimana, Mossi, J Nshimirimana; Amissi, Abdallah, Donasiyano

We say: Ivory Coast 3-1 Burundi

Ivory Coast will expect to put another victory on the board here considering the strength of their squad. Burundi will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net, but the Elephants should be far too strong for their opponents in this contest.

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