Equatorial Guinea vs Cote d'Ivoire: Kickoff time, Venue, Team news, predictions - AFCON 2021 Match Preview

After the goalless draw in the opening game of the Group between defending champions, Algeria, and Sierra Leone, this fixture presents either side the chance to take advantage of the slip-up.

Making their third-ever appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, and the first as non-host, Equatorial Guinea has not come to Cameroon to admire other teams but to compete in the 33rd AFCON.

The team known as the Nzalang Nacional arrives with a relative pedigree that means they cannot be taken lightly as doing so will be at your peril.

Equatorial Guinea is making a return to the AFCON since 2015, when they finished fourth, their best-ever run in the competition.

They may not have played in many AFCON tournaments, but when they have, they do know how to compete after reaching the quarter-final and making the semifinals in their previous two appearances.

And according to their boss, Juan Micha Obiang, the Nacionals will take the games in Cameroon seriously because they want to show the continent and the world what they are capable of - better take them seriously, too.

Meanwhile, unlike the Nzalang Nacional, the Ivory Coast, is one of the veterans of Africa's biggest football fiesta.

The Elephants, who are two-time winners, are making their 24th appearance in Cameroon, with Egypt, 25, the only country to have played in more AFCON competitions.

Speaking to the media ahead of the tournament, their manager, Patrice Beaumille, said he expects a tough and exciting battle at the 2021 AFCON and that starts with this opener against the Nacional.

This will be the second meeting between the two nations at the AFCON, in the previous clash, it was the Elephants who ran away with a 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea at the quarter-final stage of the 2012 edition.

However, in terms of their overall form, both teams are almost identical. While the central Africans have only lost one of their last five matches, winning three, the CIV have won four and lost just one of theirs.

The Japoma Stadium in Douala will host the second match of the AFCON 2021 in Group E, with kickoff slated for 8 pm Nigerian time on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

Both teams are fit, healthy, and raring to go, Equatorial will look up to midfielder, Patrick Obiang, who scored two goals during the qualifiers, for inspiration.

For Cote d'Ivoire, all eyes will be on the 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League top scorer, Sebastien Haller. The 27-year-old man has netted 22 goals across all competitions this season for his Dutch club, Ajax.

Ivory Coast goes into this one as a clear favourite, given their record, pedigree, and experience. The Elephants have won seven of their last eight matches at this stage of the competition.

However, given what I have seen so far in the competition, I will stick my head out and give the Nzalang Nacional a chance to make a point.