No underdog concerns – Yobo

Quarterfinals TodayIvory Coast vs Nigeria 17:00Burkina Faso vs Togo 20:00RUSTERNBURG - Nigeria skipper Joseph Yobo believes they have no added pressure on their shoulders heading into their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) quarterfinal clash against Ivory Coast as underdogs.Nigeria have failed to beat the Elephants in their last two Afcon meetings – in the 2008 group stage in Ghana and the 2006 semifinal in Egypt – but Yobo dismissed talk of payback on Sunday, preferring instead to concentrate on winning the clash.“If you put the squad that they have on paper, you can naturally say that we [Nigeria] are the underdogs,” Yobo said ahead of the fixture at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng, outside Rustenburg.“But football is very different. They [Ivory Coast] lost at the last tournament in the final [against Zambia] and they were favourites there as well.“Ivory Coast have a very strong squad, people might think that we are underdogs, it doesn’t really put us under any pressure, but we know the importance of this game.Nigeria struggled throughout their three group stage clashes, finishing runners-up in Group C, having played to two 1-1 draws against defending champions Zambia and Burkina Faso, before claiming a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia in their last group match.Meanwhile, Ivory Coast head into the encounter once again as favourites, with coach Sabri Lamouchi hailing the Ivorians’ team spirit as a major success throughout the early phases of the tournament.Having already qualified top of group D before their last match against Algeria, Lamouchi’s side – without the likes of Yaya Toure, Gervinho and Emmanuel Eboue who were rested – came back from a two goal deficit to level the match at 2-2.“What is very interesting in this Ivory Coast team is the spirit within the team,” the former France international said.Agencies