Emmanuel Adebayor has a chance to lead Togo to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals for the first time on Wednesday, while already qualified Ivory Coast may leave out captain Didier Drogba again.
Togo will face Tunisia in Nelspruit needing at least a draw to finally get past the group stage. It would be the first time in eight appearances that Togo would advance.
“I am excited that Togo is ever so close to a historic qualifier,” Adebayor said.
Tournament-favorite Ivory Coast, last year’s runner-up, has already secured first place in Group D, so the match against Algeria in Rustenburg will allow coach Sabri Lamouchi to make more changes to his lineup. He said he still doesn’t know if he will bench Drogba for a second straight match.
“I still haven’t decided who will play, but definitely we will see new faces in the lineup against Algeria,” Lamouchi said through a translator. “Because of the situation we are in, I’ll be able to use some of our youngsters.”
Ivory Coast, seeking its first title in more than 20 years, won the first two matches and has six points, three more than Togo and Tunisia. It won’t be surpassed even if it loses to Algeria because it has the tiebreaker advantage against Togo and Tunisia.