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Côte d'Ivoire defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the final of their AFCON to claim their third continental crown. In Conakry, where there is a large Ivorian community, emotions ran high. There was jubilation in some parts of the city, where traffic was partially paralyzed.
Eliminated in Abidjan, drawn in San Pedro and qualified in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire finally won their AFCON. After a stunning match, the Elephants clinched their third continental crown. A scenario unimaginable two weeks ago. Gathered in Lambangni, a suburb of Conakry, the Ivorian community had gathered in a restaurant to watch the match. There was a lot of talk and commentary. In this meeting place for Ivorian nationals in Guinea, many of them had made a date to meet. And here, they went through all kinds of emotions. The Elephants had the better of the opening exchanges, but were stunned a few minutes after the cooling break. In the 38th minute, with Côte d'Ivoire in control of the match, Nigeria opened the scoring through captain William Troost-Ekong. The Super Eagles' captain beat Serge Aurier to a corner which was poorly saved by the Côte d'Ivoire defense, before heading the ball into Yahia Fofana's net. The silence in the fan zone was like a graveyard.
Just as the Ivorian fans were beginning to look worried, one of them uttered the famous maxim of the first Ivorian president, Félix Houphouet-Boigny: "Discouragement is not Ivorian", to thunderous applause. Hope was reborn and silence gave way to chants of glory for the Elephants. At the interval, Nigeria held on to their fourth continental crown.Not that the Ivorian fans were discouraged. On the stroke of half-time, Frank Kessié's equaliser gave them hope. As if on cue, ever since the 4-0 debacle against Equatorial Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire have managed to turn around a number of poor scenarios. After a hard-fought victory over Mali in the quarter-finals (2-1 A.P.) and then against DR Congo (1-0), the Elephants drew on their last resources to come back on level terms.From a corner kick by the ever-present Simon Adingra, the Nigerian goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, until then irreproachable, made a hazardous exit, and Frank Kessié headed home to level the scores in the 61st minute.
The room was exultant. In the middle of the hit of the moment "coup de marteau", fans sang."We are the Ivory Coast, we won't give up.Or "Un revenant n'a jamais peur", declared one fan.He continued: "We're back from the dead, nothing can frighten us. We're going to come back and win this match," declared this fan.We're Côte d'Ivoire, we're not worth anything, but we'll be African champions", he continued ironically.
Just as we were heading for extra time, Simon Adingra, who had been unstoppable since the start of the match, accelerated in the 81st minute and delivered a cross that Sébastien Haller clipped home at the near post.William Trust-Ekong and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali were powerless to prevent the damage from being done. The Alassane Ouattara stadium exulted. A few thousand kilometers away, in Conakry, the fans were in seventh heaven. Hysteria in the fan zone.Chants are heard."We're worth nothing but we're champions. We're miraculous. Morocco was not left out of the celebrations. The Atlas Lions, the main architects of the Elephants' qualification, are celebrated. We'll always be grateful to you," chanted the fans. "When God is for you, nothing can happen to you" declared one fan. And to thank the Ivorian coach: "Thank you Emerse Faé, the Ivorians will never forget you".
Fina Moussa Camara, president of the Ivorian national youth organization, is ecstatic.
"It's a privilege to witness the Elephants' coronation. After having lived through those of 1992 and 2015, I'm witnessing this miracle. I can only thank God for making me one of the privileged ones. We organized the best AFCON ever and won it after an incredible scenario. We're savoring this victory. We're the best," rejoices this official, his throat full of emotion. In this part of the Guinean capital, traffic was momentarily paralyzed, causing a traffic jam on the stretch. The Ivorian tricolor was out. Honking their horns, fans stormed the various arteries to parade through town. The night promises to be long and eventful in the Guinean capital.After the final whistle, Hervé put on his tricolor and climbed on his motorcycle.He promises to party all night long."We're not going to sleep today.We've been resurrected and now we're African champions. It's unreal. We're savoring this final victory," he promises.
Nine years after their last title, Côte d'Ivoire are once again on top of Africa.In an incredible scenario, the Elephants clinched their third continental title after 1992 and 2015.In Conakry, the night was long and eventful for many Ivorians.
