Gabon coach Rohr believes in Africa Cup quarter-final victory

By Peter Auf der Heyde Feb 4, 2012, 15:06 GMT

Libreville, Gabon - Gabon coach Gernot Rohr is upbeat that the co-hosts can reach the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time on Sunday with victory over Mali.

The Franco-German told dpa on Saturday that he expects a tough quarter-final between two strong sides but that his players can deal with the pressure.

'I think Mali have a very good team with excellent players. Although we don't have players who play at the level like Barcelona's Seydou Keita, we do not have to hide from our opposition,' said Rohr.

'There was more pressure on us ahead of our first match against Niger and we managed to win that one.

'The big difference with this match is that if you lose, you are out of the competition. When we played against Morocco and Tunisia we knew that even if we lost, it would not necessarily mark the end of our campaign.

'But the other major difference is that our players have much more confidence than they did at the start of the competition. I hope they do not have too much confidence.'

The former Bordeaux player and coach said he was initially criticised when he introduced local young players into the squad, but that the move has paid off.

'Our matches have shown that the young players are very strong mentally. They come from clubs in Gabon where it is not easy, now they have chance to play professionally,' Rohr said.

'My work is also to give them confidence, but not excessive confidence. They have showed that they are able to play well and I am sure they will do it against Mali.'

Rohr dismissed speculation that Mali had an advantage because their coach Alain Giresse was his predecessor with Gabon.

'I found some of the players in the provinces of Gabon. They did not play with Giresse, there are a lot of new players, so we will see if he knows the team well enough.'

Saturday's quarter-finals see the other hosts Equatorial Guinea take on Ivory Coast, while Sudan face Zambia.

Rohr said he was not surprised that Sudan had reached the knock-out stages.

'We played them in a friendly and they are a very good side. All teams remaining in the competition have a lot of qualities. Ivory Coast and Ghana (who face Tunisia on Sunday) are the big favorites, but behind them everything is open.

'At his level minor details can make the difference between winning and losing,' he said.

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