AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast triumph on home soil
Ivory Coast beat Nigeria 2-1 in the 2023 AFCON final, with goals from Sébastien Haller and Simon Adingra
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With the 2023 AFCON final at stake, Ivory Coast and Nigeria began the match with great caution. Both sides set up in a compact block, closing down every space, and thought about defending before attacking. Until the cooling break, the Elephants and the Super Eagles showed great tactical discipline, each waiting for the slightest error from the opposition to punish.
In the 33rd minute, Simon Adingra advanced down the left on a transition ball to shoot at the Nigerian goalkeeper. It was the only time in the first half that Nigeria's defence was caught out. In the 37th minute, captain William Troost-Ekong opened the scoring. It was clear that set pieces would be decisive in this 34th AFCON final.
Read more on this subject: AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast crowned champions of Africa
Kessié and Haller rescue Ivory Coast
In this tournament, the Elephants fell behind against Senegal in the round of 16 and against Mali in the quarter-finals, and each time they turned the game around. In the final, once again, they had to find one last push. History repeated itself on the evening of 11 February. From a perfectly delivered Simon Adingra corner, Franck Kessié, who was impressive in the knockout rounds, rose with fury to power a header in and equalise.
From that moment, the Ivorian supporters erupted with joy and wanted more. They got it. On a burst of pace, Simon Adingra, who had missed the group-stage defeat on matchday 2 through injury, powered forward to register his second assist of the final with a cross that Sébastien Haller had the instinct to meet at the near post, winning it for the Elephants. And, above all, Ivory Coast's 3rd Africa Cup of Nations title.
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