Gabon vs Ivory Coast: Les Elephants in a must-win situation against Gabon
by Thobelani Moyo | by Cydias Aujard
Eliminated Gabon still searching for their first point
After missing out on the previous edition, Gabon had high expectations for the current 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign. However, nothing seems to have gone according to plan.
In fact, the 2012 quarter-finalists have been eliminated from the group stages. This is their sixth group stage elimination at this competition.
Both their defense and attack have turned out to be their undoing in this competition. They have scored two and conceded four goals in their last two games.
Les Pantheres began their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon. That result followed another unfavorable outcome, this time against Mozambique. In that match, they were supposed to win and secure three points. However, they found themselves suffering a 3-2 defeat at Stade Adrar.
Now, they face an Ivory Coast side that could hand them their third consecutive group stage defeat. Check out what our experts have to say in our Gabon vs Ivory Coast prediction. Against this opponent, they've crossed paths 18 times, and it hasn't been a great display with the team suffering ten defeats during this period (W4, D4).
While this marks their first meeting at AFCON, they've met in the qualifiers of this competition. Again, it was not a performance to be proud of, losing four consecutive matches.
Gabon AFCON facts:
- Of their eight appearances at AFCON, Gabon failed to progress beyond the group stages in five editions.
- Gabon have won one of their last 11 AFCON matches
- Gabon are one match away from finishing without a win for the first time since 2017
Ivory Coast are in danger of missing out on automatic progression to the knockout stages
Three-time champions Ivory Coast have yet to confirm their progression to the knockout stages of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The team led by Emerse Fae have accumulated four points from their opening two games.
The defending champions began the campaign with a 1-0 victory against Mozambique. However, they couldn't get the job done in their recent fixture against Cameroon. They played to a 1-1 draw at Stade de Marrakech.
Amad Diallo was the standout player, scoring his second goal of the tournament in the 51st minute. This comes three minutes after Franck Kessie's goal was disallowed for a foul.
Les Elephants are the better side on paper when compared to Gabon, but their opponents are not ones to be underestimated. If they can come out on top here, they will be able to reach the knockout stages for the third successive time, while failure could see them finish third in Group F, which doesn't necessarily mean elimination but an opportunity to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
Ivory Coast AFCON facts:
- Ivory Coast have never suffered a group stage exit since 2017
- Emerse Fae has yet to suffer defeat in five AFCON matches (W3, D2)
- Ivory Coast have won 11 of their last 25 final group stage matches at AFCON
