Ivory Coast football president Yacine Idriss Diallo has named his three favourites for the Africa Cup of Nations, but left out his own nation.
The tournament is scheduled to get underway later this month, with hosts Cote d'Ivoire taking on Guinea-Bissau in the opening game at Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara.
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The Elephants last won the tournament in 2015 and have always entered the competition as one of the favourites due to their big-name players.
However, Diallo feels the hosts are not among the favourites this year as they have a number of young players in the squad.
"I trust our team (Côte d'Ivoire) but we know that we are not favourites. The favourites are Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, all those teams," Diallo said, as per Daily Post NG.
"We're building a new team. If you see our team now, I think 30% are very young, it's their first competition. But we will try to bring a very good squad to be ready.
"So we will try to do our best to go as far as possible and try to win the trophy. This is why we are here," Diallo said.
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