Despite this being a high-stakes encounter, Equatorial Guinea coach, Juan Micha intends on approaching the Monday's match against the wounded Cote d’Ivoire just like any other of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

The Equatorial Guinea coach says the pressure is on the hosts to get a result following their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria.

Juan Micha’s side lead Group A after a draw in their opening match against Nigeria as well as a win over Guinea-Bissau which put them in a comfortable position ahead of the group favourites.

Speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, Micha said the pressure was on them and that they would surprise them if they opened up.

“It will be a very difficult match for both teams but more especially for Cote d’Ivoire because they are under pressure to win. We will approach the match in a calm manner. We will not wait. We know that they will come at us and open up which will allow us to surprise them at their own stadium. We know that they are under pressure and not us,” he declared in a pre-match press conference.

The two sides have previously met in the competition, with both results going the way of the Elephants.

Kick Off at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium this afternoon is at 17h00 Local Time.