The script could not have been better written, with Renard's Morocco and the Elephants clashing in a winner takes all final Group C showdown in the northern Gabonese town of Oyem.

The Atlas Lions have not made it beyond the group stage at the Nations Cup since reaching the final in 2004 but a 3-1 win against Togo on Friday put them in a position to progress to the last eight.

A draw would also favour them, while DR Congo and Togo meet in the group's other game in Port-Gentil.

The Ivorians, though, have no choice but to win if they are to advance after drawing their first two matches.

"In 2015 we found ourselves in the same situation with two draws and we won 1-0 against Cameroon," recalled Renard of a slow start to his triumphant campaign at the helm of the Ivory Coast in Equatorial Guinea.

Unprecedented hat-trick

He left that role to become coach of Lille in his native France, but a disappointing and short-lived experience in Ligue 1 precipitated a return to the African scene with Morocco.

Here he is hoping to become the first coach to win the trophy for a third time with three different countries having also triumphed with Zambia in Gabon in 2012.

Now coached by Renard's fellow Frenchman Michel Dussuyer, the Ivorians have so far drawn with both Togo and DR Congo but the noises coming out of their camp remain optimistic.

"We are calm. It is those outside the squad who are more worried," insisted Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier.

"We are here and we are trying to progress from one game to the next. We will do everything to try to qualify."