Sébastien Haller: A very special AFCON

Born in France and playing his first TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, Ivorian striker Sébastien Haller expressed his “great emotion” when he played his first match for his country against Equatorial Guinea.

“In terms of emotion, it's really special, to see such fervor among the players and the supporters, it's immense," said the Ajax Amsterdam striker who scored 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League this season.

“AFCON is not played only as teams, but with millions of people behind us. I am very happy to take part in it,” added the Elephants forward.

"We are not only 26 players. A lot of people believe in us, and we want to repeat the performances of 2015", he said recalling the consecration of the Elephants in Equatorial Guinea.

Haller highlighted that the Ivorian team is very likely to count on players who took part in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, when his country added its second star.

Talking about difficulties facing supposedly weaker opponents, Haller pointed out that there are no longer small teams. “There is no small team here in the Africa Cup of Nations',” he concluded.