Hungary vs Ivory Coast preview

May 19, 2016
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Mali vs Ivory CoastHungary step up their Euro 2016 preparations with a friendly game against Ivory Coast at their Groupama Arena in Budapest.

Meanwhile, the Elephants are warming up for the crucial 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gabon, and the game in Budapest will be a very good test for Michel Dussuyer’s men.

Hungary recently secured their first ever appearance at a major competition since 1986 as they defeated Norway in the Euro 2016 play-offs to book a ticket to France.

Foci took advantage of being placed in arguably the easiest group to progress to the finals, but they are not going there only to make up the numbers.

Hungary began their Euro 2016 preparations with a 1-1 draw against Croatia, and they have spent last week or so at a training camp in Austria.

Foci have already played one friendly match few days ago, defeating the country’s Under-21 side 4-0, and head coach Bernd Storck was quite happy with the team’s performance.

His side will now face a more serious test against Ivory Coast, and they are available at 2.70 (17/10) to win at Groupama Arena.

The likes of Balasz Dzsudzsak, Tamas Priskin, Akos Elek and Krisztian Nemeth all missed the game against Hungary Under-21 side and they are unlikely to feature, but Adam Lang could recover from an ankle problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Kiraly – Fiola, Juhasz, Guzmics, Korhut – Gera, Pinter – Stieber, Kleinheisler, Szalai – Bode.

Ivory Coast finally ended a long wait for the Africa Cup of Nations trophy as they secured the title at the 2015, but they have since seen star player Yaya Toure take a break from the national team.

The Elephants are currently trying to secure their place at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, but things are not exactly going according to the plan.

Despite being placed in a fairly easy group, Ivory Coast could only win one of their first four fixtures, meaning they now sit one point behind leaders Gabon.

And with just two games left two go and only the winner of the group qualifying for the tournament finals, the next clash against the group leaders (3 June) will be crucial to team’s hopes of defending the coveted trophy.

Coach Michel Dussuyer has called a total of 21 players for the Hungary friendly, with the likes of Yaya Toure, Gervinho and Seydou Doumbia all missing.

Max Gradel returns after a lengthy injury lay-off, while Wilfried Bony and Salomon Kalou have been included as well.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Gbohouo – Bagayoko, L. Kone, Bailly, Kanon – N’Guessan, Diomande, Seri – Gradel, Bony, S. Kalou.

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