Ivory Coast win AFCON

Ivory Coast win AFCON: Land 7/1 winning outright tip


Ivory Coast claimed the AFCON crown with a 2-1 win over Nigeria, landing a 7/1 outright shout for Jake Osgathorpe.

It was former West Ham striker Sebastien Haller who scored the winner for his nation in the comeback win, after Franck Kessie equalised early in the second half.

The Elephants were by far the better team on the night, capping a roller-coaster ride through the tournament with a title success in front of their own fans.

They became the first host nation to lift the trophy since 2006, but it was anything but straightforward.

After winning their group opener, Ivory Coast lost to Nigeria before a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Equatorial Guinea, their heaviest ever defeat on home soil.

Ivory Coast players were visibly distraught after losing to Equatorial Guinea
Ivory Coast players were visibly distraught after losing to Equatorial Guinea

That defeat meant they were needing results to go their way across the remaining group games in order to qualify as one of the four best third place teams, and while waiting for that to happen, they sacked their manager.

They did progress, just, and drew reigning champions Senegal. With interim manager Emerse Fae taking over, they were 1-0 down from the fourth minute, Ivory Coast equalised in the 86th and went on to win on penalties.

It was the same in the quarter finals against Mail, losing 1-0 and needing a 90th minute equaliser to take it to extra time, before netting a 122nd minute winner.

The semi-final was a comfortable and deserved win over DR Congo, and then the final saw them have to come from behind yet again.

It wasn't dull, that's for sure.


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