AFCON 2023: what we learned from the semi-finals
AFCON 2023: no cards shown in Ivory Coast v DR Congo, despite a full-blooded contest featuring 16 fouls.
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No cards shown in Ivory Coast v DR Congo
Only three goals were scored in these semi-finals of AFCON 2023, two of them in Nigeria v South Africa. Both were penalties. One red card and two yellow cards were shown, all in the first semi-final between Bafana Bafana and the Super Eagles. No cards were shown in the second semi-final between DR Congo and Ivory Coast, despite a full-blooded contest featuring 16 fouls.
DR Congo v Ivory Coast was also settled in normal time, while the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana had to go through the ordeal of a penalty shootout.
Emerse Faé, 3rd Ivorian coach to reach the final
Ivory Coast's first AFCON triumph was won under a local coach. Yéo Martial led the Elephants to the continental summit in 1992 in Dakar. François Zahoui also achieved the feat of taking the Ivorian side to the final in 2012. In 2023, another son of the soil has repeated that feat. Emerse Faé is indeed the third Ivorian coach to take the national team to the final. Promoted to head coach after Jean-Louis Gasset's resignation, the 40-year-old has instilled a new mentality in an Ivorian side that has been completely transformed. Faé will try to write himself even further into the national team's history by becoming the second Ivorian coach to win the Africa Cup of Nations.
8th final for Nigeria
Nigeria are arguably one of the most competitive sides at the AFCON. The Super Eagles have reached the final for the 8th time in their history. Only Egypt (10) and Ghana (9) have done better. The three-time African champions are chasing a third star. They have already lost 4 finals.
Ivory Coast, first best 3rd-placed team to reach the final
Since the round of 16 was introduced with the AFCON expanding to 24 teams, Ivory Coast are the first best 3rd-placed team to reach the final. In the group stage, the Elephants suffered two defeats and won just once. They therefore squeezed into the round of 16. Since then, Ivory Coast have not put a foot wrong and are aiming to claim a third star at this AFCON 2023.