East African Gazette
Ivory Coast
The 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) will this time round witness a thrilling clash between the ‘Elephants’ of Ivory Coast and ‘Super Eagles’ of Nigeria.
In an unexpected turn of events, Ivory Coast surprised football fans by miraculously reaching the finals.
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Sebastien Haller fulfilled the Elephants Dream, after leading to the scoring the only goal against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a heated match on the night of Wednesday, February 7, 2024, in the capital of Cote d’Ivoire.
The goal was scored in the 65th minute, relieving tension among the team and their fans who had lost hope.
Ivory Coast, on the brink of elimination in the group stage, fought spiritedly to secure their spot in the finals.
In addition to being two-time AFCON champions, Ivory Coast became the first host country since Egypt in 2006 to reach the finals.
They will now face Nigeria’s Super Eagles, who also advanced to the final after defeating South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in penalties following a 1-1 draw in regular time.
The final match is scheduled for Sunday, February 11.
AFCON records
IVORY COAST (Elephants): The team, known as the Elephants, is under the management of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF). They have achieved victory in the Africa Cup of Nations on two occasions, in 1992 and 2015, and have successfully qualified for the FIFA World Cup three times, in 2006, 2010, and 2014.
NIGERIA (Super Eagles): Nigeria has participated in the Africa Cup of Nations finals twenty times and emerged victorious in the tournament three times in 1980, 1994, and 2013.