"We are thirsty for victory", warns the coach of the Comoros, Amir Abdou

The Comoros, and their coach Amir Abdou, participate in the first African Cup of Nations in their history

The Comoros face Morocco this Friday (5 p.m.) for their second match of the African Cup of Nations.
Cœlacanthes coach Amir Abdou gave an interview to "20 Minutes".
Despite the defeat of the first match against Gabon (1-0), he still hopes to qualify for the eighth, while the Comoros celebrate their first participation in this competition.

Ambitious Comorians.

On the eve of their second match of the Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco (this Friday, 5 p.m.), Amir Abdou, the coach of the Comoros, gave an interview to

20 Minutes

After a first defeat against Gabon (1-0), its players no longer have the right to make mistakes to snatch a qualification for the round of 16.

Because this is the objective of the Cœlacanthes for their first participation in the CAN.

How is your beginning of CAN going?

We are a little disappointed with the result, we expected better against Gabon.

I think the team put in a good performance, but we went into this first game timid.

There was a bit of this emotional side that was very difficult to manage and we paid for it in cash by quickly taking this goal.

After we woke up, we started to play, and we even had possession of the ball.

We deserved better.

I'm also a little disappointed in the refereeing, there is a flagrant hand fault by the opposing goalkeeper who takes the ball outside the area.

And the Var did not work when we could also have obtained a penalty at the start of the second half.

But morale is good and we are preparing for Friday's game with determination.

Isn't it normal to be a little timid for your first participation, do you feel pressure?

Of course, that's normal.

But we don't feel any pressure.

It's difficult to enter a competition, especially when you discover it.

We want to do well, and that means managing emotions.

I had warned my players, during the last meeting in September, that we had to ignore that.

But we have trouble escaping it and we paid cash with this goal which we took quickly.

What is your objective for your first participation in this AFCON?

We are competitors so the objective is to qualify for the round of 16 even if we know it will be difficult.

We crave victory.

The matches are played on neutral ground, the opponents also want to qualify and Morocco, on Friday, will want to follow up with a second victory to take cover.

To get a result, you always have to believe in it.

We have already taken into account all the parameters of our opponents, who have great potential, in this quality group.

But we also know our possibilities to thwart them, so we will have to be very efficient.

What did you miss in this first match against Gabon?

We had possession of the ball but we flinched in the last 20 meters.

It's just the finish that we lacked, we were not efficient in this area and we will have to erase all that.

We remobilized, the players are in tune, the counters are reset for the match against Morocco.

Is it a dream for you and your players to participate in this AFCON?

We are very happy to play this AFCON, but it is not a dream.

We are there, and we did not steal our qualification.

We all went to get her together.

Whoever our opponents are, the only thing that matters is the result.

Nobody lives the matches like the commentator of the Comoros team, @kassimoofficiel… 🇰🇲 #CAN2021 pic.twitter.com/GUSxlfL5Iz

— Brut FR (@brutofficiel) January 11, 2022

Tell us how you managed to build this selection and obtain this qualification in CAN?

The job was to build a collective, to structure this team by trying to have the best players in all positions.

We managed to lay the foundations, with consistent work that allowed us to tickle the other teams.

Is it complicated to convince players to join the Comoros team?

There is no real need to convince them given the results we have, and to play competitions like this.

All players want to participate.

If we had to convince them, it was through the project presented to them and its orientations.

They were all able to believe in it by supporting them to perform.

How do you judge the organization of this CAN, while in France many have unfairly mocked the refereeing errors or the absence of the Mauritanian anthem?

We are in total immersion, between the hotel and the stadium, and we have not encountered any problems in terms of organization.

For refereeing errors, there are everywhere, in Africa, but also in South America, in Europe.

It fell on Tunisia, but we also experienced refereeing errors.

It's part of the game and you have to ignore it.

What is important is to manage to score more goals than our opponents.

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