Guinea fear no-one - Traore

Guinea Ibrahima Traore says the team are not scared of any opponent as he sends a strong message to Cameroon ahead their Africa Cup of Nations clash on Saturday.

Guinea were given a slim chance against tournament favourites Cote d'Ivoire ahead of their opening Group D match on Tuesday, but at the end of the 90 minutes it was the Elephants who counted themselves lucky to have escaped with a 1-1 draw.

Man of the match and Guinean skipper Traore believes the result was no shock and that they are prepared to do more against Cameroon in the second round of group matches this weekend.

"We are not scared of any opponent, and we have nothing to lose," he told FIFA's official website, "so we can simply play our game. And that is what we want to do in our next match against Cameroon.

"We have no fear. We knew from the beginning that we are a team nobody would count as a favourite."

The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus put a temporary halt on all of Guinea's home matches and the Confederation of African Football decided in August last year that the Syli Nationale would have to play their qualifying matches for AFCON 2015 at neutral venues.

The Borussia Monchengladbach playmaker says many countries did not want them to play at their home ground and the challenge forged the team into a more powerful force.

"The spectators in the stadiums were chanting 'Ebola, Ebola.' That also made us stronger and more determined," he revealed.

"We managed to qualify, although nobody believed in us. But now we are here, so nobody is saying those things anymore."