From being on the cusp of group-stage elimination to now contesting for a spot at the Africa Cup of Nations final on home soil, Ivory Coast interim boss Emerse Fae has explained how he and his side have managed to spectacularly turn their fortunes around.
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When the 2023 AFCON hosts suffered a shock 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A match, it seemed the two-time African champions were destined to crash out of the tournament at the first hurdle.
However, after Morocco defeated Zambia in their last group match, the Elephants qualified for the next round as the last best third-placed team in all the groups, and according to their newly appointed interim coach Fae, that is what he needed to breathe life into his team's campaign.
"As I said before the match against Senegal, we had come a long way," he told members of the media at a pre-match press conference.
"We were almost eliminated from the competition in our qualifications.
"So as soon as we obtained the validated qualification following Morocco's victory over Zambia, we immediately focused on the team which gave the group a little confidence because we had just experienced some really difficult things.
"So, first of all, restore confidence in the group and make the group understand if we wanted to go further in the competition, we had to be even more united on the field because if you don't put this same solidarity on the field, it's very complicated to win because it's a very difficult competition.
"When we look at teams that are still in the competition, like Nigeria, for example, we have learned since their match against us that they have defensive solidity.
"They have a team that has been very united, who defends together and who attacks together, and it's this solidarity coupled with the individual qualities of the players that they have, as well as their team spirit, which has allowed them to reach the semi-final.
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"So we wanted to prepare for the round of 16 to recreate this state of team spirit because I knew personally that I had quality players individually, and if we recreated this collective dynamic we would arrive and manage the steps, one after the other, to regain confidence."
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