Côte d’Ivoire head coach Hervé Renard has brushed aside suggestions that Ghana’s depleted squad influenced the outcome of Thursday night’s AFCON 2027 qualifier, insisting his own team also had to cope with several key absentees.
The Black Stars entered the highly anticipated West African derby without a number of regular players, but Renard refused to accept that as a valid explanation for the result.
The French tactician stressed that the Elephants also missed several important players and urged the focus to remain on his side’s victory rather than the circumstances surrounding the match.
“Missing players is not my problem. We were missing five or six players too,” Renard said after the game.
He also dismissed discussions surrounding the penalty decision and Ghana’s injury concerns, insisting there were too many excuses being offered after the final whistle.
“The penalty, the absences — there are so many excuses. We won this game, and that’s all that matters,” he added.
Renard’s comments came after Côte d’Ivoire secured an important victory over the Black Stars in their opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture, maintaining that his side deserved the three points despite facing selection challenges of their own.
