Cote d'Ivoire: From Best Losers Side to New Afcon Champs Winners

cafonline
Supporters of the Ivorian national team.
11 February 2024
Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam)
By Benjamin Ben

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST: YES! hosts Ivory Coast are the new Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions after defeating Nigeria 2-1.

It is their third silverware of the contest and it is all cerebrations in Abidjan as people are ready to party.

Leaving aside lifting the trophy, Ivory Coast have provided a great lesson in life of never giving up.

They finished group A on third place and qualified into the knockout stage as the best loser...what happened next is a life changing lesson.

However, Nigeria seized the lead in the 38th minute through skipper and center-back William Troost-Ekong.

His goal momentarily silenced the home fans who packed the 60,000 capacity Alassane Quattara Stadium.

The home side never freezed as they kept crawling from behind until they flattened the curve in the 62nd minute courtesy of Franck Kessie.

A piercing header from the former AC Milan and Barcelona player restored hope for the home fans to lift the decorated AFCON title.

21 minutes later, Sebastiene Haller increased the tally by firing home from a close range to put the title within reach.

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