Guinea-Bissau forward Zinho Gano has dismissed claims they will be under pressure to face Ivory Coast in the opening fixture of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations on January 13.

The Djurtus share Group A with hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea but according to Gano, who features for Zulte Waregem in Belgium, they have what it takes to make it out of the pool.

“No, no pressure. On the contrary, for us it is an honor to play a match like this. The opening match is something special, there will be maybe at least 60,000 people in the Stadium,” said Gano as quoted by CAFOnline, adding: “I am a professional footballer, so it is for this type of match that we practice this profession. I’m really looking forward to playing a match like this.”

He continued: “Of course! We didn’t even win a match. So our first goal is to win a match and then, to manage to get past the first stage. I know its a difficult group with Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria but we will see. In football, anything is possible.”

On what he makes of their group, Gano said: “We know that these are very big countries, but this is an opportunity for us to show that we are there too. We have a good group and we are also here for the fourth time, it shows that we are worth something too.”