No thoughts for Afcon final - Gervinho
Ivory Coast winger Gervinho told reporters in their training facility in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that nobody in their midst was thinking of the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Arsenal forward said they wanted to intentionally avoid having it in mind and getting disappointed later on.
The Ivorian team was highly favoured to clinch the 2012 edition hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which went to Zambia after a nerve-racking penalty shootout.
“What we have in mind right now as we prepare is to win every match we play and move forward in the tournament,” the former Lille striker said.
“However, we’d not be focusing on the final and seeing ourselves already as potential winners of the competition. It is going to be difficult for everybody. The best thing for us to do is not to repeat the same errors of the past and see what happens.”
Gervinho scored a brace to help his side overcome Egypt 4-2 on Monday in their final test match played in Abu Dhabi, where the West Africans began preparations for the upcoming showpiece last week.
Drawn in Group D against Togo, Algeria and Tunisia, the Elephants will play their opener against the Sparrow Hawks on January 22 in Rustenburg.
