Ivory Coast head coach Michel Dussuyer has hailed his players for the outstanding performance after overwhelming Gabon 4-1 in Group A final game on Sunday evening at Huye stadium, a win that saw them storm the quarter-finals of the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN).

Les Elephants, who stumbled in their opening game 1-0 against hosts Rwanda, recovered well to beat Morocco 0-1 in their second game which they followed with a 4-1 drubbing of Gabon.

Speaking to the media in his post-match interview, Dussuyer expressed his satisfaction with what he referred to as "great effort” from his players, but cautioned them to stay focused ahead of the knockout stage.

"The players showed maturity and great team work knowing very well we could not afford to falter at all, having started the competition on a negative note, losing to hosts Rwanda, but we have slowly regained our form in the subsequent matches,” Dussuyer said.

The 56-year-old Frenchman noted that, "We are now looking forward to the quarter-finals as we know it will be a tougher fixture. But I have told my players that if they can give the same performance, then we’d have a good chance to reach the semi-finals.”

For finishing second in Group A, Ivory Coast will meet the winner of Group B in the last eight while Amavubi, who were thrashed 4-1 by Morocco, will face the team that finishes second in Group B.

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