The people of Ivory Coast “deserve” a dramatic 2023 AFCON title. match – Football news.
The Elephants of Ivory Coast defeated Nigeria 2-1 in Abidjan on Sunday to win their third continental championship, capping a stunning comeback and redemption on home soil at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Willem Troost-Ekong, the captain of the Super Eagles, gave his team an early lead against the flow of play, but goals from Frank Casey and Sebastian Haller condemned Nigeria to their fifth loss in eight AFCON finals appearances.
It was a fitting conclusion to striker Haller’s road back to full health following his diagnosis of testicular cancer in July 2022, and even for Nigeria’s most devoted fan.
Ivory Coast was in danger of being eliminated in
Now let’s start the elephant celebration.
The victory, all the sweeter for the many side stories, left the people of the West African nation, which has been in the grip of a five-year civil war since 2007, dancing the night away. Heavy traffic jams accompanied by honking cars and the sound of vuvuzelas, the honking instrument of soccer fans, engulfed a 3-kilometer radius of Abidjan’s Ebiampe area.
“We are the champions of Africa. Long live the elephants,” a jubilant Ivorian fan Sayaka Kosi told Al Jazeera.
“No team was better and we deserved to win against Nigeria. We are ready to party all night long,” added a sweaty Maimuna Yaya.
Deciphering the Myrtle Beach Weather Mythology
On the field, Trost-Ekong’s strong header in the first half gave Nigeria the lead, and Casey equalized for the hosts just before the hour mark. Haller, who began playing again in January 2023 following four rounds of chemotherapy and surgery in November 2022, headed home Simon Adengara’s cross to give Nigerians a chance less than ten minutes from the end. “It’s the strength of the group and the mentality that got us through,” Ivorian man-of-the-match Edingara said. “We had some tough moments but we picked ourselves up, even though it wasn’t easy. Mental fortitude saw us restore our chances to what we have today. “Our people deserve this victory because they stood by us even when many thought we were going to lose.”
That meant Nigeria, who had won four of their first six games and were undefeated in the competition, decided to stick to their defensive strategy from their semi-final matchup with South Africa. They consequently were unable to stifle their more powerful opponents at night.
“The Ivorians never gave up fighting. “We ought to have applied more pressure, but we failed to do so,” Nigerian defender Kenneth Omiro said to Al Jazeera.
Ivory Coast
“Where things went wrong was when we let up a goal. To the Ivorians, congratulations.”
The captain of Nigeria and most valuable player of the competition, Troost-Ekong, declared he would exchange his man-of-the-match honors for the AFCON trophy. He claimed that before the competition began, nobody gave us a chance, but we exceeded everyone’s expectations.It’s a sad conclusion to a
Frank Onika, a midfielder for Brentford, claims that most Nigerian players are flawed. “I’m depressed. We battled to the very end. It wasn’t our day, and we were made to pay for it. “We tried to play as the coach asked us to play our game, but it just wasn’t a solid performance from the Super Eagles.”
Nigeria coach Jose Pacero, whose future is now up in the air as his two-year contract expires at the end of the tournament, admitted his side finished second.
“Our team had a great tournament but Ivory Coast was better today,” said the 63-year-old. “Our team didn’t show our level. It is true. It wasn’t the same thing as what we did in the previous round.
Elephants beat Super Eagles.
For Peseiro’s
It was more the realization of an evolution after life dealt him a bad hand than it was a true return to the Fae, save in the sense that they were redeemed by him and could once again claim their match-winning hero Haller.
After being forced to retire from playing at the age of 28 owing to phlebitis, an inflammation of the veins near the skin, the former Ivorian international, who played in the Premier League with Reading, turned his attention to coaching.
Fae stated that he simply wanted to commemorate a significant milestone in the history of Ivorian football and that it was premature to discuss his future.
“Everyone struggled to achieve this, now we can celebrate being African champions,” he stated.
“This triumph is ours.”
