Manchester City defender Kolo Toure has admitted that Ivory Coast are eager to try to win the African Cup of Nations, but will face difficult opposition.
The tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon starts on Saturday, with Ivory Coast one of the favourites.
That said, Toure is expecting a difficult campaign and feels Ghana are the team to beat.
“It’s going to be a very important tournament for our country after the hard time our country has had a few months ago,” he told Sky Sports.
“It’s going to be a really, really tough competition, playing against some brilliant teams and we just need to do our bit and then see if we can come back with the trophy.
“It is a difficult situation. For me Ghana is a more likely team to win.
“When you look at what they did at the last World Cup in South Africa, they were the best African team and at the minute they are the team everyone needs to be scared of.
“But the Ivory Coast have some great players and we know they can be one of the best teams in Africa.
“In 2006 we were in the final, in 2008 we went to the semi-final, but it is getting harder and harder each time.
“There are some big players in the tournament. The likes of Senegal, Morocco and Ghana but the Ivory Coast have some great players, but we are ready to commit to try to win this trophy,” he concluded.
Ivory Coast are alongside Sudan, Bukina Faso and Angola in Group B of the tournament.
By Gareth McKnight
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