VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE COMMENTS FROM IVORY COAST'S PLAYER OF THE MATCH, AMAD DIALLO, HEAD COACH, EMERSE FAE, AND MOZAMBIQUE HEAD COACH, CHIQUINHO CONDE RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SHOTLIST SHOWS: MARRAKECH, MOROCCO (DECEMBER 24, 2025) (STATS PERFORM – Access all) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST'S PLAYER OF THE MATCH, AMAD DIALLO, SAYING: "Yes, I’m really proud. It’s a childhood dream. I waited so long for this moment. I missed two AFCONs due to injuries. I missed lots of meet ups with the national team. It’s thanks to God I’m healthy enough to be here today so I give thanks to the lord. And I’m honestly very happy but getting the win is what matters most to met." 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IVORY COAST'S PLAYER OF THE MATCH, AMAD DIALLO, SAYING: "Yeah, first of all I’m very proud of myself. I’ve been waiting for this moments a long time. I’m very proud to play for my country because it’s a dream come true. And then the second one. The win was very important for us to show everyone we are the champions of Africa. But like I said before, winning as a team was the most important thing today. We won 1-0. I was thinking to win more than 1-0 but we’re going to take 1-0 and then we’re going to think about Cameroon because this is going to be a tough game for us." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST'S PLAYER OF THE MATCH, AMAD DIALLO, SAYING: "We're going to prepare well for the (next) match. We know that Cameroon are extended family. It’s a derby so we mustn't underestimate them. It's AFCON. We'll prepare well for the match and it's going to be an exceptional dual. But we’re expecting to win the match. That's the mentality of the African champions." 6. VARIOUS OF AMAD POSING WITH PLAYER OF THE MATCH TROPHY 7. (SOUNDBITE) (French) IVORY COAST HEAD COACH, EMERSE FAE, SAYING: "We need to stick to our mindset and maintain our defensive block. Beyond that, we, of course, have to be more precise and accurate in our final moves. We need to be more pragmatic. Cameroon is a new team, as their coach said. It's a team that recently changed their coach so they’ll have a point to prove. So, we need to maintain our momentum on the defensive side but offensively we’ll need to do more." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MOZAMBIQUE HEAD COACH, CHIQUINHO CONDE, SAYING: "It’s a shame we didn’t manage to score the goal we deserved for the commitment, effort and competitiveness the players showed today. I think my players deserve congratulations for their performance, but it’s still sad that we didn't get a different result." 10. WHITE FLASH 11. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) MOZAMBIQUE HEAD COACH, CHIQUINHO CONDE, SAYING: "Yes, it’s a good sign for the match against Gabon. But it’s unavoidable – the match against Gabon is now going to be the most important match of our lives. We’ll have to play differently than we did today in the first half because we showed Ivory Coast too much respect given their great history. This doesn’t mean we’re going to underestimate Gabon. They have a great team too. But, our only option is to play to win and we want to go further in this completion." STORY: Holders Ivory Coast squandered a number of chances but Amad Diallo’s goal early in the second half was enough to beat Mozambique 1-0 on Wednesday (December 24) and give them a winning start to their Africa Cup of Nations title defence. In the opening Group F game in Morocco, the Ivorians battled to break down their opponents in a competitive first half but took firm control after the break without converting the many chances they created. Diallo side-footed the ball into the net in the 49th minute to ensure the three-point haul in rainy conditions but the scoreline would have been a lot more emphatic had the Ivorians been sharper in front of goal. Wilfried Zaha, playing his first international in more than two years after his surprise recall for the Cup of Nations finals, wasted several chances and Franck Kessie had two-point-blank efforts saved by Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan. Ivorian substitute Vakoun Bayo also had an opportunity with an easy header in front of goal but somehow put it wide and in the 89th minute Bayo had an effort cleared off the line with Ernan caught well out of his goal. Mozambique brought on winger Dominguez as a second-half substitute at the age of 42 years, one month and six days, becoming the oldest outfield player in tournament history, behind only former Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who was 44 when he played in the 2017 final. Mozambique are still to win a match at the finals, stretching back to their tournament debut in 1986. This is their sixth appearance, with a record of four draws and 12 losses. Cameroon and Gabon meet later on Wednesday in Agadir in the other Group F clash. (Production: Conal Quinn)
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