Overview:
This is the fifth time this century, the finalists of an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have emerged from the same group, although on this occasion neither of them actually topped Group A
Sunday February 11, 2024
- Alassane Ouattara Stadium 11pm (EAT)
The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2023 climaxes on Sunday with giants Ivory Coast and Nigeria contesting the final at the Alassane Outtara stadium in Abidjan.
The hosts will be hoping to add a third star to their jersey while the Super Eagles are targeting a fourth trophy.
The match presents a good chance for The Elephants who lost 1-0 to the Nigerians in Group stages and this is the fifth time the finalists of an Africa Cup of Nations come from the same group.
Road to the Finals – the Nigeria Super Eagles
Group A – Finished Second place
Drawn in a tough Group A consisting of tournament hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
The Super Eagles finished second in their group after worrying 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea saw them bounce back against the Elephants with a narrow 1-0 win and a similar scoreline against Guinea-Bissau which earned them a place in the round of 16.
Round of 16 (Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon)
The round of 16 saw Nigeria getting into rhythm and hitting full speed. An interesting tie between them and Cameroon saw the red-hot Ademola Lookman finding the back of the net twice for his side to send the Indomitable Lions crashing out of the competition.
Quarter-Finals (Nigeria 1-0 Angola)
The quarter finals were not so much of a high scoring match for the Super Eagles as they narrowly edged a resilient Angola 1-0 in Abidjan. While they may not have found the back of the net more than once, the three-time champions demonstrated true champions’ mentality with their impressive game management ability.
Semi-Final (Nigeria 4-2 South Africa) on penalties.
Nigeria continued their dominance over South Africa by defeating them on penalties to progress to the finals.
With 120 minutes ending 1-1, Nigeria luckily won on penalties to repeat what happened in 2000 when they knocked out South Africa in the semi-finals also.
Road to the Finals – the Cote d’Ivoire Elephants
Group A – qualified as third best placed team
In a charged atmosphere at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Cotê d’Ivoire started their campaign with a convincing 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau with goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso.
The hosts slipped in their second game with a 1-0 defeat against Nigeria and everything started crumbling for Jean-Louis Gasset and his men.
They needed a win in their last game against Equatorial Guinea to qualify automatically but the Nzalang proved to be difficult to beat. The Elephants suffered a 4-0 defeat and were on their way home.
It wasn’t until the final group stage match of the entire tournament between Morocco and Zambia that Côte d’Ivoire (3 points) secured a spot as the best third-placed team, ensuring qualification for the round of 16.
Round of 16 – (Cotê d’Ivoire 5 – 4 Senegal on penalties)
Things started getting better for Cotê d’Ivoire; they showed great composure against defending champions, Senegal by defeating them on penalties after the 120 minutes ended 1-1.
Quarter-finals (Cotê d’Ivoire 2-1 Mali after extra-time)
They had Mali to deal with in the quarter-finals. With their confidence back, Cotê d’Ivoire despite having a player sent off earlier in the game, managed to win.
Late goals from Simon Adingra and Oumar Diakite in the regulation and extra-time respectively won the game for the hosts to book a place in semi-finals.
Semi-finals (Cotê d’Ivoire 1-0 D.R Congo)
Cotê D’Ivoire gained their confidence in the semi-finals and showed the character required in the tournament by beating the Leopards.
Sebastian Haller scored in the second half to win it for the Ivorians.
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire coach)
“We have a great opportunity to keep the trophy at home. We know that when you organize a tournament, it is difficult to go on and win it. We have made the final and tomorrow, we have the opportunity to achieve this feat and at the same time, add a third star to the orange jersey of Côte d’Ivoire.”
Jose Peseiro (Nigeria coach)
Playing a final is always important. This is my first AFCON. Some were saying it’s been special, and I can attest to that. The emotions in Africa are very special. All of this in my opinion, is a great way to learn and I would live to win it with the Nigerian team tomorrow.
“I learnt tremendously here. There is joy when you win but difficult when you lose so it is very important to find a balance. We have a great squad of players that really want to win this for Nigeria. Some are new-comers to the squad but have played in other competitions. Football brings a long of emotion, more than any sport and this is important for Nigeria.”
Additional reporting by Cafonline