Kolo Toure: Cote d'Ivoire have serious problems

15 Jan 2013 19:20:00

The Manchester City man says the Elephants have plenty of work to do ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, despite winning their latest friendly

Cote d'Ivoire defender Kolo Toure says his side have "serious problems" in the aftermath of their 4-2 victory over Egypt on Monday.

A brace from Arsenal winger Gervinho and solitary strikes from Lacina Traore and Ya Konan Didier eventually crushed the Pharaohs, but the Manchester City man was desperately unhappy with their defensive showing.

“Although we beat Egypt 4-2 I think we still have some serious problems, especially in the defence,” he told the Ivorian FA media.

“We have to correct our lapses and play very deep right from the defence to stop the opposition from getting too close.

"We also need to correct conceding dangerous corner-kicks and throw-ins and then engage the midfield to play high and hard and form the first defensive line.

“In official competitions there are mistakes you don’t make or you pay for it dearly. I’m not too satisfied with our showing but since we have more time to fine tune, I hope we’ll be able to correct that.

The Elephants will leave for South Africa on Thursday.

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