Sunday, February 11, at the 60,012 Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé, the curtains will fall on the 34th edition of the biennial African football tournament, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as two former champions, the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire lock horns in the final match of the hugely successful championship.
The two African giants have faced each other on a few occasions since the turn of the millennium. They have had only eight meetings in 24 years prior to this final. Out of those, three have been in the AFCON and two have remained indelible in the minds of Nigerian football fans.
On 6 April, 1994, an epic clash involving the two giants was staged at Stade El Menzah in Tunisia. In the course of the mouth-watering semi-final match which many pundits tagged ‘final before final’, Michel Bassole headed Cote d’Ivoire in front after 19 minutes, but Benedict Iroha equalized after a mesmerising one-two with Jay Jay Okocha.
Bassole scored again, and Nigeria also scored (through Rashidi Yekini) to make it 2-2 before half time. Both teams threw the kitchen sink at themselves in the second half and during extra time, but there were no more goals and it ended in a penalty shootout.
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Samson Siasia lost his kick but Bassole and Amani Yao also fluffed for the Elephants. Four days later at the same venue, Nigeria defeated Zambia 2-1 to win their second AFCON title.
Another intriguing contest between Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire was the quarter-final match at the 2013 AFCON in South Africa. Although the Ivorians with the then Chelsea danger man Didier Drogba and Barcelona star midfielder, Yaya Toure, in their fold were highly favoured to upend the less fancied Super Eagles, striker Emmanuel Emenike opened the scoring just before half-time, smashing a thunderous effort past Boubacar Barry in the Ivorian goal.
Even as midfielder Cheick Tiote drew the Elephants level shortly after the break, heading home from Didier Drogba’s free-kick, one of the home based players in the Super Eagles, Sunday Mba, sealed Nigeria’s win with a shot deflected in off Sol Bamba.
Therefore, tomorrow’s final match is another grudge contest that promises to be explosive with all the trappings of a final as the two powerhouses of African football go for each other’s jugular for the prestigious trophy.
The final is going to be a repeat of the group A match which the Super Eagles won 1-0 following on-field captain, Williams Troost Ekong’s goal from the penalty after a foul on the reigning African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen.
However, the Ivorians who returned from the dead after their scandalous 0-4 loss to underdogs Equatorial Guinea in the final group match are now brimming with confidence after Sabastien Haller’s lone goal against Congo DR landed them in the championship match. They are, therefore, eying revenge against the Super Eagles.
Ivory Coast who are two-time champions are the first host country to reach the final of the AFCON since Egypt in 2006, and the turnaround is absolutely remarkable for a team that was on the brink of elimination in the group stage.
But the Super Eagles who boast of three titles are aiming to become one of the most successful teams in the AFCON. With three previous wins in 1980, 1994, and 2013, they can go for a shared fourth title with arch rivals Ghana, while Egypt and Cameroon lead with seven and five titles respectively.
While Nigeria had appeared in seven finals in 1980, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 2000 and 2013 winning three in the process, their opponents managed only four final appearances in 1992, 2006, 2012 and 2015 with victories in 1992 and 2015.
Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire’s road to final
The Super Eagles have been rock-solid so far in the competition and qualified for the knockout stage as runners-up in Group A. They drew 1-1 with group winners Equatorial Guinea, before securing wins against Guinea-Bissau (1-0) and fellow finalists Ivory Coast (1-0).
Thereafter, they knocked out Cameroon in the round of 16, Angola in the quarters and South Africa in the semi-finals to reach their eighth AFCON final in their history
Cote d’Ivoire on the other hand, could be considered very lucky for making it out of their group. They won 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau in their opener, lost 0-1 to Nigeria before the 4-0 thrashing by Equatorial Guinea. The two defeats left them on the verge of early exit but at the conclusion of group matches, the Ivorians progressed as the last of the best-losers.
However, the Elephants bounced back from the dead to knock out defending champions Senegal 5-4 on penalties in the Round of 16.
They then defeated Mali (2-1 a.e.t.) in the quarters and DR Congo (1-0) in the semi-finals to reach their fifth AFCON final in history.
Ivory Coast’s run at the tournament has been described as “miraculous” by their own interim coach Emerse Fae, the man who replaced the sacked Jean-Louis Gasset following embarrassing results in the group stage.
The Ivorians are also holding on tightly to their host-to-win ambition. Only eight host countries have won the tournaments at various times in the past. They are Nigeria, Algeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Ghana, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Therefore, football lovers in Africa and indeed around the world are eagerly looking forward to tomorrow’s final for another pulsating contest.
Stars to watch:
Victor Osimhen
The reigning African footballer of the year has been a huge menace to his opponents and he will once again try to cause problems for the hosts. It will be recalled that the only goal scored against Cote D’Ivoire came through the penalty which Osimhen won. Although he has been inspirational so far, Osimhen has unfortunately scored just a goal while having four disallowed goals.
Ademola Lookman- With three goals in his 2023 AFCON account he has done so much to justify his high rating as one of the best attacking wingers in Africa. The Atlanta man failed to score against South Africa but will wreak havoc again, if the Ivorian defenders over concentrate on stopping Osimhen.
Sebastien Haller
The Elephants’ danger man came into this tournament not fully fit due to injury but was very key to his country reaching the finals. His goal via an unusual volley was all that was needed for Cote D’Ivoire to become the first hosts to reach an AFCON final since Egypt in 2006.
Franck Kessié
Kessie produced a Man of the Match display and has been integral to the Elephants’ run, marshaling the engine room with power and poise. The AC Milan star is determined to deliver for once-upon-a-time dejected Ivorian fans. His leadership and authority can make the difference against Nigeria’s flair.
