AFCON 2023 - Ibrahim Diakité: "This win is historic"

Guinea scraped through to the quarter-finals of the AFCON 2023. Mohamed Bayo broke Equatorial Guinea's hearts in the closing minutes (1-0). Impressive in the Guinean side, Ibrahima Diakité was named man of the match. At the post-match press conference, the player hailed a historic win, especially as it is the first time since 1976 that the Syli National have won a knockout match at an Africa Cup of Nations. "This win is historic, nobody had managed to do that in our history. This win is for the people who have suffered for a long time", he said.

The Le Havre player now dreams of going all the way: "We're very happy, it was tough and we managed to hold on until the end. I hope we'll keep going like this and go all the way, God willing ", he said.

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The Guineans outclassed the Nzalang Nacional, in fact. They dominated the match from start to finish, but were wasteful in the final third. Looking back on the game, Ibrahim Diakité nevertheless admitted that against Equatorial Guinea, his team struggled to get their game going. "We had a difficult first half, we couldn't get our game going. The coach told us to keep pushing because sooner or later chances would come, and that's what we managed to do".

After Mohamed Bayo's late breakthrough, the emotion among the Guineans was palpable. Head coach Kaba Diawara was even in tears as he headed down the tunnel. The team now turn their attention to the quarter-finals, where they will face either DR Congo or Egypt.