Borussia Dortmund striker Haller says the Elephants want to avenge group stage loss on Sunday

IVORY Coast's Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller has warned Nigeria's Super Eagles that they should be prepared for defeat on Sunday in the final of the African Cup of Nations as the Elephants are out for revenge.

Nigeria and Ivory Coast were drawn together in Group A of the tournament and when they met the Eagles emerged as 1-0 victors. Ivory Coast went on to lose 0-4 to Equatorial Guinea and were on the verge of elimination from the tournament but fortunately, other results went their way and having qualified for the knockout stages, the team has been revitalised and is firing on all cylinders.

Now a totally different side, the Elephants managed to eliminate defending champions Senegal, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo to get to the final. Having sacked French coach Jean-Louis Gasset after the disastrous group stage and replaced him with former international Emerse Fae, the Elephants are no longer the pushovers they were earlier in the tournament.

Former West Ham striker Halle, 29, who has been the star of the revival show, scoring the winner in the semi finals against the Leopards of DR Congo, has said that the Elephants want to avenge their defeat to Nigeria in the group stages. This rhetoric sets up a titanic clash when the two teams meet at the Alassanne Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Sunday.

Haller said: “We are playing the final against Nigeria. It is a great nation, it is heavy. They beat us in the group stage but we are motivated to go and lift the trophy on Sunday in this stadium in front of the Ivorian people. We have revenge to take on Nigeria.”

Born to a French father and an Ivorian mother, Haller started out playing for France as a youth international, playing a total of 51 caps and scoring 27 goals before making the conversion. However, in  November 2020, Haller was called up to the Ivorian national team and made his debut in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier victory over Madagascar, scoring his side's winning goal in the 55th minute in a 2-1 win.