By Samuel A. February 12, 2024
It’s a rare wonder to see a team qualify from their group as the fourth of four best third placed sides, sack their head coach and end up with their name on a continental trophy, however, the 24th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, a competition that had a lot of drama, made the improbable possible. It was a triumph born from adversity as the Ivorians scraped out of their group following two defeats before finding their form in the knockout rounds with a ‘Never Give Up’ attitude that led them to the title. They completed one of Africa Cup of Nations’ most memorable comebacks to be crowned champions of Africa for their third time as Nigeria were beaten 2-1 in Abidjan.
Nigeria captain and former Watford centre back William Troost-Ekong headed the Super Eagles in front in the 38th minute, causing eruption on the Nigerian side of social media, as they all thought they were on the verge of history.
Franck Kessie ended the celebrations 16 minutes into the second half as he met Simon Adingra’s corner to deservedly level the game. Sebastien Haller, who nearly missed out on this competition due to an ankle injury, scored the winner in the 81st minute. The striker flew out to Ivory Coast a couple of weeks before the rest of the squad linked up to work on his fitness. The forward missed all of their group-stage games and made his return as a substitute in the last 16 against Senegal.
He met another inch perfect Adingra cross to superbly flick home the winner 9 minutes away from the 90 for his most important contribution in an Ivory Coast shirt. It was a poignant moment for the Dortmund striker, who had battled back from being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022, and will now go down in history among all Ivorians after their third AFCON triumph.
