Ivory Coast and Lille striker Gervais Yao Kouassi a.k.a Gervinho has called on his teammates not to underestimate Amavubi Stars in their Saturday’s 2012 Africa Nations Cup qualifier.

In an interview posted on CAF website (www.cafonline.com) yesterday, Gervinho said, "There is no small team or easy match in football. The Rwandans will be coming out strong and determined to get a good result.”
"They have nothing to lose and pressure will be on us because we are the favourites. It is the more reason why we can’t underestimate the Rwandans,” he noted.

When asked whether he knows anything about Amavubi team, Gervinho said, "I don’t know much about the Rwandan team. I recall we played against them during our preparations for the Orange CAN 2010 in Angola last January.”

"During that match, they showed a lot of competitiveness and they are aggressive as well. We have to expect a similar Rwanda team for the September 4 clash,” said Gervinho.

"No player posed any threat in their team but this doesn’t mean I look down on the Rwandan team. Compared to our team, Rwanda has no big names in their squad.

Gervinho added that it is important to exercise some level of caution. "With the players we have coupled with our experience, we are better placed to win but qualification is gotten on the field and not otherwise.

"Even though we have the luck of being in a group which is relatively to our advantage, we don’t have to see ourselves in the 2012 CAN even before obtaining the qualification on the pitch.

"We will not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with a misplaced feeling of superiority. Once again, it is on the field that we have to show that we are stronger than our rivals.

Gervinho also realized that of the all the three teams are stronger and can be placed on the same pedestal. He said that one has to take all opponents with the most seriousness and remain focused till the end. Each match has its own realities.

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