Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure is adamant that Ivory Coast will win the Africa Cup of Nations, despite a less than impressive performance in their opening Group D match.
The Elephants huffed and puffed before getting their campaign off with a 2-1 win over Togo at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Tuesday night.
Toure, who scored Ivory Coast's first goal in the win, said the team of talented players was determined to end the West African nation's 21-year drought in the Nations Cup.
The first and only time the Ivorians won the continental title was in 1992. Last year, they lost in the final to Zambia. But Toure is convinced the wait will end on February 10, when the Afcon final is played at Soccer City.
"We knew it was going to be tough against Togo," admitted Toure.
"They are one of the strongest teams in the tournament."
Toure said he was not surprised by the physical approach of the Togo team, but added that Ivory Coast were used to this.
"There are no easy teams in this tournament," he said.
"For us the most important thing is that we were able to start the campaign with a win.
"The expectations are high from the people of Ivory Coast back home. We want to make them happy by going home with the title.
"We need to keep the winning momentum going, and not only reach the knockout stage, but also go all the way to win the tournament. It will not be easy but we are ready for the challenge to deliver on our promise of winning the title," said Toure.
Toure, who also commended the team's goalkeeper Barry Boubacar, who made several brilliant saves against Togo, has now scored in four successive Nations Cups.
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