The final of the 34th edition of the Cup was played on Sunday, February 11, 2024. Trailing to Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Franck Kessié and Sebastien Haller.
Côte d'Ivoire wins its 3rd African Nations Cup
With the final of the AFCON 2023 at stake, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria got off to a cautious start. With a compact block closing off all space, both teams focused on defense before attack. Right up until the cooling break, the Elephants and Super Eagles showed great tactical rigor, watching out for the slightest mistake from their opponents to punish them.
In the 33rd minute, Simon Adingra got on the end of a transitional ball on his left flank to shoot past the Nigerian goalkeeper.This was the only time Nigeria's defense was behind in the first half. In the 37th minute, captain William Troost-Ékong opened the scoring. Clearly, set-pieces are going to be of vital importance in this 34th AFCON final.
Kessié and Haller rescue Côte d'Ivoire
In this competition, the Elephants had fallen behind to Senegal and to Mali in the quarter-finals, but have always come back from behind. And again in the final, they had to make a last-ditch effort. History repeated itself on the evening of February 11th. From a corner perfectly struck by Simon Adingra, Franck Kessié, as impressive as ever in the knockout stages, popped up with rage to slam home a powerful header for the equaliser.
From that moment on, the Ivorian fans exploded with joy, begging for more. They were in for a treat. After Simon Adingra, who was absent from the group stage defeat on Matchday 2 due to injury, had accelerated, he made his second decisive pass of the final with a cross to the near post, which Sebastien Haller had the flair to cut back to give the Elephants victory. And above all, the 3rd African Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire's history.
If you thought you won’t hear it again today, think again! 😜🥳 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023Final pic.twitter.com/nGwxIUO83R
— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 11, 2024
