The Elephants playmaker has stated his optimism, revealing that they can't afford to fluctuate again when they clash with Nigeria in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final on Sunday, February 11.
Ivory Coast qualified for the round of 16 as one the best third-placed teams despite losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea in their final Group game.
The hosts went on to pull through against defending champions Senegal as well as Mali in the quarter-finals before defeating DR Congo on Wednesday night, February 7, to book their spot in the grand finale.
Kessie, who has established himself as a key cog in the middle of the pitch for the Ivorians, was named as the CAF man of the match against the Leopards of Congo and his eyes are now firmly fixed on the trophy.
“As long as you still have a five or 10 percent chance you need to keep believing, because that is what makes football beautiful,” Kessie told the press after their semi-final win over DR Congo.
“After the Morocco result we knew we had qualified and that changed everything.
“It gave us the strength we needed, it boosted us. We knew we couldn’t do worse than in the first round. We need to keep going like this because you can’t go all the way to the final only to then give up,” the Al-Ahli Saudi star added.
Ivory Coast and Nigeria met in Group A of the competition on January 18 with the Super Eagles winning 1-0 courtesy of a William Troost-Ekong penalty.
Sunday's final is going to be the first final between two West African nations since the Elephants beat Ghana 9-8 on penalties to win the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea.
By: Pascal Amoah
