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7 June 2023
Ivory Coast 1-1 (5-3 on penalties) Panama: Post-game reactions
Today marked the end of the first matchday of the 49th edition of the Maurice Revello Tournament. Ivory Coast won on penalties shoot-out their opening match of the competition against Panama after conceding the equalizing goal in the 90th minute. Here are the post-match reactions from Ivorian and Panamanian players and coaches.
Jorge Dely Valdés (Panama head coach):
"We studied each player in every match. Our game was very direct, especially when playing long balls forward. On their side, they have many players with a lot of criteria and qualities.
During the match, they had different tactical approaches. When defending, they played in a 4-1-4-1 formation, but when attacking, they shifted to a 4-3-3. These different tactical schemes posed a real challenge for us."
Reyniel Perdomo (Panama Player and Captain):
"What we need to improve for the next match is to possess the ball more and not rush forward too quickly. We lost too many balls due to long balls towards our attack."
Ludovic Batelli (Ivory Coast head coach):
"I'm happy, but the overall performance was quite average. We didn't manage to find depth, and we didn't execute quick movements with better passing quality in the final 30 meters.
Even though we weren't brilliant, we controlled the match, and I think they scored with their only shot. It was a poor management on our part in this match. Instead of turning back, we should have gone forward and played the ball behind their defense, pushing the defensive line higher and maintaining it.
But it's the first match, and I still want to congratulate the boys because they showed mental resilience. It's not easy when you receive such a blow right at the end.
We had to respond well in the penalty shootout, and we did what was necessary by converting all 5 penalties. We took good shots and made the necessary save.
We only have 2 points when we should have had 3, so we need to reflect on that and rethink the team for the next match.
We didn't fully achieve what we wanted to do. We were caught off guard by this South American team, capable of disrupting the game and being very tenacious and valiant."
Jean N'guessan (Ivory Coast Player):
"On a personal level, I'm really happy with my performance and being named the best player. Collectively, I'm also satisfied with what we produced. We responded well after conceding that late goal.
We never thought we would lose this match; we always had the belief to go all the way, and I think that's what allowed us to win today."
