Afcon 2023: Ivory Coast beat Nigeria in final, tournament recap (2024)

Ivory Coast completed a fairy tale journey to win the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title on home soil after a second-half comeback against Nigeria.

In a tournament which had seen a number of fancied sides fall by the wayside, the two teams left standing in the final were both former champions.

Sebastien Haller, who had himself returned to action just 13 months after testicular cancer, netted the winner to give the Elephants a 2-1 victory in Abidjan on Sunday.

Ivory Coast's third continental success came after a remarkable run full of twists and turns at the 34th edition of Africa's biggest sporting event.

"It is a crazy feeling," co-captain Max Gradel told BBC Sport Africa.

"It is very special to win in your (own) country and I never experienced things like this.

"The fans were amazing and I am very happy to win this trophy for everybody. It has been a very tough tournament and we managed to show we have big character."

The Elephants are the first host nation to lift the trophy since Egypt in 2006, while Gradel and fellow skipper Serge Aurier became the first Ivorians to win the Nations Cup twice, having also been part of the winning squad in 2015.

Ivory Coast had already lost against Nigeria in Group A before they were handed the heaviest defeat ever suffered by a home country.

That shock 4-0 reverse against Equatorial Guinea lead to the departure of coach Jean-Louis Gasset but the Elephants squeezed through as the last of four best-ranked third-placed sides.

After interim boss Emerse Fae saw his side net a late equaliser and go on to beat holders Senegal on spot-kicks in the last 16, the Ivorians produced a thrilling quarter-final win over Mali to make the last four.

A more routine 1-0 win over DR Congo followed, pitting them against three-time continental champions Nigeria in the final.

The Super Eagles had needed a penalty shootout to overcome South Africa in the semi-finals following a dramatic 1-1 draw which had seen Bafana Bafana net a 90th-minute spot-kick to equalise.

Nigeria went ahead in the final before half-time through a William Troost-Ekong header but Franck Kessie equalised just after the hour mark, and Haller won it late on with a brilliant improvised volley.

"We are miracle survivors, but I think we had to go through everything we went through in order to really understand that it all could end at any moment," said Ivory Coast midfielder Seko Fofana.

"We were in difficulty, with two defeats in the group stage. We adapted to a difficult context and did what we had to do to make the country proud."

Interim coach Fae, meanwhile, masterminded victory in what was the 40-year-old's fourth game as a senior manager.

5: Emilio Nsue (Equatorial Guinea)

4: Gelson Dala (Angola), Mostafa Mohamed (Egypt)

3: Ademola Lookman (Nigeria), Mabululu (Angola), Lassine Sinayoko (Mali), Mohamed Bayo (Guinea), Baghdad Bounedjah (Algeria), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria)

Player of the tournament: William Troost Ekong (Nigeria)

Best goalkeeper: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)

Young player of the tournament: Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast)

Fair play award: South Africa

Many bookmakers had Senegal down as favourites to retain the title they won for the first time in Cameroon - and they justified that faith by reaching the last 16 with a 100% record.

However, the Teranga Lions could not get past Ivory Coast despite taking an early lead in their last-16 tie.

Elsewhere, the most impressive performances came from relatively unheralded nations Equatorial Guinea and Cape Verde, both topping groups they were given little chance in.

But the National Thunder fell by the wayside against Guinea in the last 16, with tournament top scorer Emilio Nsue missing a penalty.

Cape Verde won Group B, astonishingly finishing above Ghana and Egypt, who were robbed of Mohamed Salah through injury in their second game of the competition.

But it was a painful end for the Blue Sharks whose Nations Cup run came crashing down in the quarter-finals with a penalties loss to South Africa.

Angola were surprising winners of Group D, with captain Fredy and forwards Mabululu and Gelson Dala their stand-out performers.

The Palancas Negras were impressive in their last 16 win over Namibia but found Nigeria's defence much harder to penetrate in the quarter-finals, where they were ousted by the Super Eagles.

As for Nigeria, they had eased through to the knock-out stages in solid, if unspectacular, fashion, but grew into the tournament and emerged as the team to beat.

However, the final was a bridge too far for the Super Eagles, who took the lead against the Ivorians but were overcome by a stirring second-half comeback from in front of a passionate home crowd at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Morocco, meanwhile, were expected to be strong challengers following their historic run to the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but the Atlas Lions were upset 2-0 by South Africa in the last 16 and their long wait for a second continental title will now stretch closer to half a century.

But some other big names struggled - not least Ivory Coast early on, as the hosts were left sweating to qualify among the four best third-placed sides after losing two of their three group games.

The Elephants redeemed themselves against Senegal and then Mali, and then sealed a third continental title after beating DR Congo in the last four and seeing off Nigeria.

Cameroon also laboured, squeezing through their group before being sent packing by Nigeria, while fellow former winners Ghana, Algeria and Tunisia each only managed two points apiece in the group stage.

The 24 teams were split into six groups of four, with the top two in each group and the four best-ranked third-placed sides advancing to the last 16.

Group A: Equatorial Guinea (Q), Nigeria (Q), Ivory Coast (Q), Guinea-Bissau.

Group B: Cape Verde (Q), Egypt (Q), Ghana, Mozambique.

Group C: Senegal (Q), Cameroon (Q), Guinea (Q), The Gambia.

Group D: Angola (Q), Burkina Faso (Q), Mauritania (Q), Algeria.

Group E: Mali (Q), South Africa (Q), Namibia (Q), Tunisia.

Group F: Morocco (Q), DR Congo (Q), Zambia, Tanzania.

Group A: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Egypt 2-2 Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Ghana 1-2 Cape Verde, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group C: Senegal 3-0 The Gambia, Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro

Group C: Cameroon 1-1 Guinea, Yamoussoukro

Group D: Algeria 1-1 Angola, Stade de la Paix, Bouake

Group D: Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania, Bouake

Group E: Tunisia 0-1 Namibia, Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo

Group E: Mali 2-0 South Africa, Korhogo

Group F: Morocco 3-0 Tanzania, Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro

Group F: DR Congo 1-1 Zambia, San Pedro

Group A: Equatorial Guinea 4-2 Guinea-Bissau, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Group A: Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Egypt 2-2 Ghana, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Cape Verde 3-0 Mozambique, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group C: Senegal 3-1 Cameroon, Yamoussoukro

Group C: Guinea 1-0 The Gambia, Yamoussoukro

Group D: Algeria 2-2 Burkina Faso, Bouake

Group D: Mauritania 2-3 Angola, Bouake

Group E: Tunisia 1-1 Mali, Korhogo

Group E: South Africa 4-0 Namibia, Korhogo

Group F: Morocco 1-1 DR Congo, San Pedro

Group F: Zambia 1-1 Tanzania, San Pedro

Group A: Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Group A: Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Cape Verde 2-2 Egypt, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Group B: Mozambique 2-2 Ghana, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Group C: The Gambia 2-3 Cameroon, Bouake

Group C: Guinea 0-2 Senegal, Yamoussoukro

Group D: Angola 2-0 Burkina Faso, Yamoussoukro

Group D: Mauritania 1-0 Algeria, Bouake

Group E: Namibia 0-0 Mali, San Pedro

Group E: South Africa 0-0 Tunisia, Korhogo

Group F: Tanzania 0-0 DR Congo, Korhogo

Group F: Zambia 0-1 Morocco, San Pedro

Angola 3-0 Namibia, Bouake

Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Egypt 1-1 DR Congo aet (7-8 pens), San Pedro

Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritania, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

Senegal 1-1 Ivory Coast aet (4-5 pens) Yamoussoukro

Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso, Korhogo

Morocco 0-2 South Africa, San Pedro

Nigeria 1-0 Angola, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium, Abidjan

DR Congo 3-1 Guinea, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Mali 1-2 Ivory Coast (aet), Bouake

Cape Verde 0-0 South Africa (aet, 1-2 pens), Yamoussoukro

Nigeria 1-1 South Africa (aet, 4-2 pens), Bouake

Ivory Coast 1-0 DR Congo, Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan

Twelve years on from the end of a civil war that split the country in two, Ivory Coast welcomed Africa's best footballers for the first time since 1984.

Six stadiums were used in five host cities, with two in Abidjan.

All of the stadiums are either new or underwent renovations ahead of Afcon, with the government spending $1bn on infrastructure projects around the country.

Originally scheduled to be held in June-July 2023, the tournament was moved to avoid a clash with the West African rainy season.

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