BUEA, Cameroon — Sierra Leone coach
John Keister believes his team's performances in holding continental giants
Algeria and the
Ivory Coast at the
Africa Cup of Nations have given the whole
country a much-needed boost.
اضافة اعلان
The Leone Stars, ranked 108th in the world,
are playing at the Cup of Nations for the first time since 1996 and head into
their final group game against Equatorial Guinea on Thursday knowing a win will
take them through to the knockout stage.
"Whatever happens here we will have
brought Sierra Leone back into the world. Sierra Leone has gone through so much
as a country," Keister, who was born in England, told AFP.
"They have had a war, they have had
Ebola, mudslides in which a lot of lives were lost, and then we have had corona
which has affected the world.
"There has been a massive amount of
happiness in Sierra Leone around what this national team has done.
"It has brought the country together.
You see everyone in Sierra Leone wearing the green, white and blue."
Sierra Leone, who are appearing at just
their third AFCON and have never gone beyond the group stage, upset the odds to
hold reigning champions Algeria and the Ivory Coast in their first two matches
in Cameroon.
Algeria's own defeat against Equatorial
Guinea left the group-wide open before Thursday's final matches, with Sierra
Leone facing the 'National Thunder' in the Cameroonian coastal town of Limbe.
"I think for us this is the most
difficult match, especially when everybody expects us to go in there and
win," said Keister, who won 16 caps for Sierra Leone as a player.
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