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Africa Cup 2023: Ivory Coast’s historic tournament victory
The final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023 between Ivory Coast and Nigeria signified the culmination of a tournament for the history books.
The tournament saw fierce competition from several star-studded teams across Africa go head-to-head for the prestigious biennial trophy.
In the end, the host nation Ivory Coast came out on top against all odds to win by two goals to 1 against the Nigerians. The Ivorians, at the start of the tournament, were listed among the favourites to win the competition however their win came as a huge surprise to many.
Their poor showing in the group stages of the competition resulted in assistant coach and former footballer Emerse Faé taking over after the sacking of head coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
The Ivorians survived the groups by the skin of their teeth, only securing 3 points in the opening fixture of the tournament. The host nation received a 4:0 humbling in their final group game against Equatorial Guinea and only qualified for the knockout stages of the competition as one of the best third-placed teams.
Two successive comebacks against defending champions Senegal and Mali in the round of 16 and quarter-finals meant the Ivorians had secured a place in the semi-final.
After triumphing in a very cagey match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Elephant secured its place in the final against fellow Group A counterparts, Nigeria.
For many reasons, Nigeria was tipped to come out on top in the final. The Super Eagles had already beaten the host nation in their backyard in the group stages of the tournament and were also unbeaten in the competition.
On February 11, in front of over 50,000 people at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan, the Elephant of Ivory Coast came from behind to hand Nigeria their first defeat of the tournament to win the prestigious competition.
Not only did the Ivorians derail the hopes of Nigeria winning their fourth trophy to go level with their 'noisy' West African rival Ghana, but the Ivorians also tied the Nigerians with 3 AFCON trophies.
Many will not only remember the journey of the Ivorians to the summit of African football at the AFCON 2023 as arguably one of the best tournament comebacks in sports history but will also remember the story of Sebastien Haller, the man who beat cancer just a year ago to score the winning goal that secured his nation the prestigious AFCON trophy in his home country.
Haller also scored the only goal in the semi-final game against DR Congo that secured the Ivorians a place in the final. The remarkable comeback by the Ivorians that saw them go from tournament favourites to one of the most disappointing teams and then eventual winners of the competition is one that may never be explained.
However, the undying support of the whole Ivorian nation and the sheer determination of the footballers in the famous orange jersey to restore joy back to their supporters after a near tragic campaign meant no team on the African continent could veer them off course to a historic win.
