Cote d’Ivoire caretaker coach Emerse Fae says his team “must not stop here” after their monumental penalty shootout victory over Senegal on Monday.
The tournament hosts eliminated the reigning champions 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time to book their spot in the quarter-finals.
In front of a raucous home crowd at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, Senegal made a blistering start and took the lead just four minutes in.
A superb cross from Sadio Mane found Habib Diallo, who calmly chested the ball down before firing a rocket into the top corner.
Cote d’Ivoire were unfazed and continued pressing and when the game turned on a pivotal 86th minute moment when the host nation was awarded a penalty as Pepe was clumsily brought down by Edouard Mendy.
After VAR reviewed the incident, Franck Kessie coolly sent Mendy the wrong way from the spot to equalize.
In the shootout, Kessie stepped up to smash home the winning kick and send the home crowd into ecstasy.
It capped a remarkable turnaround for the Elephants after a disastrous group stage saw them suffer two defeats, including a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea.
“We had a difficult start, conceding an early goal, but I told the players at halftime to keep playing the same way, not get confused,” said Fae.
