Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire made reconnaissance visits to the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaounde on September 9, 2014.

The stage is now set for the showdown between Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire counting for the second day of play of the qualifiers for the 2015 African Cup of Nations to take place in Morocco.

First to visit the stadium was the Ivorian national squad which trained mostly on passing the ball on a much reduced space while the goalkeepers fine-tuned their skills. However, attention tilted towards the Lions as they arrived a few minutes to the end of the training session of the Elephants as the scanty spectators who had turned out were eager to discover the new breed of Lions.

Though aspiring for a second victory to secure their chances of qualifying for the final round of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, the Ivoirians recognised the fact that Cameroon is a formidable football side that needs to be taken seriously. “Drogba and Eto’o are two great players with whom we are proud to have played with, but Cameroon remains a formidable football side no matter who is playing, said Yaya Touré.

“The important thing is perpetrating the reputation of the team,” he added. Commenting on their lackluster performance against Sierra Leone, Gervinho on his part said the important was that they won the three points of the day though without style and promised that they were going to qualify for the final round of the competition.

Despite a drizzling downpour, some diehard spectators stayed until the end of the training session, lavishing praises on the players for having put up an honorable performance and having regained the confidence of the people thanks to the 2-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the first qualifying match. The Lions were cheered and encouraged by the little crowd that turned out despite the fact some were barred from entering into the stadium. However both teams hid their tactical strategy so as not to reveal their secret to the opponent before the decisive encounter.