Ivory Coast eye attacking play against Kenya with World Cup spot on the line

VIDEO SHOWS: IVORY COAST TRAINING AHEAD OF WORLD CUP QUALIFIER AGAINST KENYA / COMMENTS FROM COACH EMERSE FAE RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (OCTOBER 13, 2025) (REUTERS – Access All) 1. IVORY COAST TEAM TRAINING GAME UNDERWAY  2. PLAYERS LISTENING TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM COACH EMERSE FAE 3. VARIOUS OF TRAINING GAME UNDERWAY  4. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST COACH, EMERSE FAE, SAYING:     "Often when teams play against us, they play with a very compact, very defensive block. We believe that the best defence is attack, so, of course, we're going to play offensively. We'll start the match by putting pressure on them to show them that we're at home, to show them that the supporters will be behind us tomorrow. If we start the match strongly, I think the supporters will get even more behind us and push us on, which will allow us to put more pressure on the Kenyan players." 5. JOURNALIST FILMING PRESS CONFERENCE OFF PHONE 6. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST COACH, EMERSE FAE, SAYING:     "I think we need to stay positive. We've had a good run so far. We knew before the match against the Seychelles that our fate was in our own hands. We avoided the Seychelles trap by winning, scoring goals and regaining some confidence in attack. So, we're not going to prepare for this match thinking about what happened in 2021 against Cameroon, I believe, and even more so in the Africa Cup of Nations against Equatorial Guinea. All that is behind us. We've learned from what didn't work, but honestly, we're no longer thinking about all those negative events." 7. PRESS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY 8. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST COACH, EMERSE FAE, SAYING:     "I think it's important that we have confidence in our abilities, that we have confidence in ourselves, and that we approach this match with enough confidence but not too much complacency." 9. FAE AND OTHERS SITTING AT FRONT OF NEWS CONFERENCE STORY: Ivory Coast will adopt an attacking approach in their crucial final World Cup qualifier against Kenya on Tuesday (October 14), coach Emerse Fae said on the eve of the encounter. The match, set for 1900 GMT at Abidjan's Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe Olympic Stadium, could secure Ivory Coast's World Cup berth with a win. Fae plans to field a strong lineup, likely reinstating stars like Amad Diallo and Franck Kessie, after resting key players in their previous match against Seychelles. Ivory Coast, yet to concede a goal and unbeaten in their qualifying campaign, lead Group F on 23 points, a point ahead of Gabon, who host Burundi in their final match.  (Production: Media Coulibaly)

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