Cote d’Ivoire midfielder, Jean-Michael Seri says despite the team advancing on penalties, what matters is the fact that they have qualified for the quarter finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

He disclosed what their coach told the team at half time after going down early in the game by a lone goal.

“We were just calm. At halftime, the coach asked us to continue in the same way. We were very solid and united and fought for our nation. The important thing is that we qualified for the quarter-finals. Côte d’Ivoire qualified for the next round, and this is the most important thing for me”,  the midfielder said.

Seri was speaking after his side emphatic 5-4 victory following a 1-1 stalemate against Senegal where he was awarded the TotalEnergies Man of the Match award in Yamoussoukro.

“We did not start the match well, and after we conceded the goal, we responded to that, and we took control of the match, with a team performance. It doesn’t matter how we qualified, what matters is that we qualified”, said the midfielder.