Ivory Coast added a 3rd African Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy to their cabinet last night, equaling Nigeria’s tally. They are still four trophies behind from Egypt with the most titles (7) of the elite continental accolades at national level.
Image cred: CAF Online
Monday | February 12, 2024
Not once but several times Ivory Coast/Côde d’Ivoire came from behind against all odds to emerge victorious. And last night was no different; winning this competition in particular for the 3rd time in history.
That was the case on Sunday when they beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final of the biannual African Cup of Nations at Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Abidjan, their capital city.
Having to wait until the last day of the group-stage matches for their survival, they towered over every opponent to clinch the 2023 edition of the African championship.
Although the Super Eagles [Nigeria] fired the first and only salvo through William Troost-Ekong (38’), they failed to repeat the feat of their meeting in the group encounter earlier in the tournament where defeated the hosts by 1-0.
Alas, they could not hold on in the face of the Ivorian avalanche of attacks from all flanks and ilse in the orange-painted stands.
This became apparent when Frank Kessie (62’) leveled the scores to 1-1 and Sébastien Haller (81’) put the game to bed.
With the Elephants (Ivory Coast) leading 2-1 and surely inches away within reach of the gold medals, the Nigerians came out of their blocks.
However, the offense was tame for Ivory Coast had done enough damage to claim the most prestigious prize in African soil at national level.
And so the grand finale ended with the hosts’ bright orange overshadowing every green-clad Nigeria.
Image cred: Khel Now
Individual accolades
The Golden Boot went to the captain of Equatorial Guinea Emilio Nsue who scored five (5) goals, the highest in the AFCON 2023.
Meanwhile Ronwen Williams, South Africa skipper, secured the Golden Glove, emerging as the best goalkeeper of the competition.
The most awaited and unpredictable honour went to Nigeria captain Troost-Ekong who was bestowed with the Player of the Tournament award.
By and large, it appears the AFCON 2023 lived up to its expectations as promised by the African custodian of the sport Confederation of African Football President Patrice Motsepe in the opening ceremony.
As per tradition, AFCON will be back in two years and this time Morocco will host this mega continental festival.