On Sunday night at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, managed to secure a draw against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the final showdown of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
This tournament represents the 34th edition of the continent’s prestigious competition.
The Super Eagles aim to clinch their fourth AFCON title, while the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire aspire to secure their third championship, having previously triumphed in 1992 and 2015.
Both teams progressed from Group A, with Equatorial Guinea finishing atop the table with seven points and a goal difference of three. Despite this, the Elephants advanced as the fourth third-place team.
View the team list below:
23. Stanley Nwabali
5. Williams Troost-Ekong
6. Semi Ajayi
21. Calvin Bassey
3. Sanusi Zaidu
8. Frank Onyeka
17. Alex Iwobi
2. Ola Aina
18. Ademola Lookman
11. Samuel Chukwueze
9. Victor Osimhen
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FULLTIME: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
The comeback is complete and the hosts have triumphed in Abidjan! There’s tears all over the Alassane Ouattara Stadium pitch as Ivory Coast are your 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title winners! Nigeria had the halftime lead but come up short, while the hosts won with their pressure and attacking intent over the 90 minutes.
Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: Second Half
90 min: With seven minutes of added time looming, Ola Aina is booked for stopping an Ivorian counter-attack with a drag-back.
86th min: Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro has thrown on his final hail mary, introducing Terem Moffi and Joe Aribo into the mix to replace Zaidu Sanusi and Frank Onyeka.
Ivory Coast respond by withdrawing hero Sebastien Haller alongside Seko Fofana, with Jean-Philippe Krasso and Ibrahim Sangare entering the field of play.
81st min: GOAL! IVORY COAST! SEBASTIEN HALLER’S FLICK PUTS IVORY COAST IN FRONT AND THE STADIUM IN ABIDJAN GOES BERSERK!
A cross from the left is sent to the mouth of goal, and Haller is there to play hero, lifting his leg up up to meet the ball, deflecting it past Stanley Nwabali inside the far post!
74th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! Sebastien Haller nearly produces a worldie to put the hosts in front! He had room for the bicycle kick from the top of the six-yard box, and it appeared he had a few spots in the goal to pick out, but he puts it wide left. That would have been sensational!
That brings us to the second-half cooling break. How much do these two sides have left in tank as they battle in the Ivorian heat?
68th min: Chance, Nigeria! The Super Eagles have looked better since Ivory Coast equalised, and with a set-piece opportunity in the attacking third, William Troost-Ekong heads over the crossbar.
A pair of changes for Ivory Coast, as Serge Aurier will come off after having been booked in the first half and looking a bit on edge. On comes Wilfried Singo in his place, while Oumar Diakite replaces Max Gradel. There’s a humorous moment where Aurier hands the captain’s armband to Gradel, who had it for about 15 seconds before himself withdrawn and giving it to someone else.
62nd min: GOAL! IVORY COAST! FRANCK KESSIE BRINGS THE HOSTS LEVEL OFF A CORNER AND THE IVORIAN FANS EXPLODE!
It’s a wonderful delivery to the far post and Kessie is there to head it inside the woodwork, with Stanley Nwabali unable to get across his line in time. The effort was perfectly placed in the bottom-right corner, and it sends Didier Drogba and the rest of the Ivorian support into euphoria!
61st min: Chance, Ivory Coast! Odilon Kossounou has a hit from distance and forces Stanley Nwabali to turn the ball around the post for a corner! That’s a good effort that has a lot of dip, and all Nwabali can do is get a touch to push it over the line.
60th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! Franck Kessie’s header is saved by Stanley Nwabali! Simon Adingra, who’s been excellent down the left for the hosts, crosses to the top of the six-yard box where Kessie is waiting. It’s behind the former Barcelona midfielder, so he contorts his body and lowers himself to redirect the ball on frame, but it’s too close to the Nigerian goalkeeper who gets down low to smother the ball.
57th min: Nigeria make the first change as Moses Simon, who started the semifinal but was dropped here, is brought off the bench to replace Samuel Chukwueze. The AC Milan winger was totally invisible in his 56 minutes of action.
53rd min: Ivory Coast want the referee to have a look at contact on Max Gradel who goes down at the top of the penalty area. It looks like he had his ankle stamped on, but it wasn’t intentional and happened only as he was already falling to the turf on his own. Play is waved on.
In the aftermath, Stanley Nwabali is booked for his taunts of Max Gradel while the latter was on the ground receiving treatment, and then so is Ivorian captain Serge Aurier. The Nigerian goalkeeper wanted Gradel booked for simulation but was fronted up by Aurier in a shouting match.
50th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! CLEARED OFF THE LINE BY NIGERIA! Max Gradel wins a free-kick just to the right of the penalty area, and while the ball wasn’t cleared for a number of seconds, only a blocked shot came from it before it’s eventually sent away by the Nigerian defence.
As Ivory Coast recycle it back in, a wonderful cross from the left unlocked the Super Eagles, leaving Stanley Nwabali sprawled on the deck and the goal gaping. It fell to Gradel who unleashes a piledriver at the open net, but Calvin Bassey got in the way and rejected the effort right on the doorstep!
Kickoff: They’re under way for the second half in Abidjan! Both these teams have had late magic this tournament, so there’s surely more twists and turns to come over the next 45 minutes or more.
Five of the last six AFCON host nations who reached the final on home soil went on to win. The only that didn’t? Nigeria in 2000. Will the Elephants become the second modern host to fall just 90 minutes short, or will they have another late comeback in them to turn this around?
HALFTIME: Nigeria 1-0 Ivory Coast
The Elephants were well in the ascendancy through the first 30 minutes as they were spurred on by the home crowd in Abidjan, but Nigeria picked out the opener against the run of play, turning the match completely on its head.
Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong, who scored from the penalty spot in the semifinal win over South Africa, came up big again as he headed the Super Eagles in front on 38 minutes, and they have been the better side since that moment. Ivory Coast have some soul-searching to do in the dressing room, lucky to even be sporting 11 players after Franck Kessie got away with throwing an elbow right before the break.
Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: First Half
45+4 min: Oh boy, Franck Kessie could be in real trouble here, as he pummels Zaidu Sanusi with his elbow as the Nigerian was racing past the backpedaling Ivorian midfielder. Sanusi is in a heap on the pitch, and replay suggested that contact had real malice and appeared intentional.
Somehow, they play on. The hosts get away with one, as they very well could have been a man down if VAR had taken action. Incredibly, Kessie gets away without even a booking. Extremely lucky.
44th min: Victor Osimhen is whistled for his third foul of the match, and he’s caught letting out a vociferous chuckle as he finds the repeated decisions against him somewhat humorous.
Four minutes of stoppage time are shown, as Osimhen receives treatment for a hamstring niggle, but is able to come back on.
38th min: GOAL! NIGERIA! The Super Eagles have been second best so far, but their captain William Troost-Ekong puts them in front with their first foray forward!
The initial corner delivery to the near post is not cleared well and the ball loops up into the air where Troost-Ekong leaps high into the air above Ivorian captain Serge Aurier, sending a bullet into the back of the net! It’s Nigeria’s second shot of the match, and first on target, but that’s all they need to open the scoring!
37th min: Chance, Nigeria! It’s the first shot from the Super Eagles as a mess in midfield sees Zaidu Sanusi get in open space down the left, but Odilon Kossounou comes in strong to make the block and concede a corner. There appeared to be an opening to shoot, but it’s closed down at the last minute.
34th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! WHAT A SAVE BY STANLEY NWABALI! A wonderful later ball by Franck Kessie springs Simon Adingra down the left edge of the six-yard box, and he finds space to shoot from a tight angle. His effort is pinpoint, seeking the inside of the far post, but the Nigerian goalkeeper is up to the task, diving to his left to stop the shot! Another brilliant moment from Nwabali who is having a sensational AFCON tournament!
31st min: There’s even more needle now in this match as Stanley Nwabali comes out to collect a ball and clips Simon Adingra slightly with his knee as he flies by. That brings us to a cooling break, and that phrase has a few meanings as it gives the two squads a chance to chill out with tempers on both sides rising.
26th min: There’s a tussle on the field! An aerial duel between Evan N’Dicka and Victor Osimhen sparks a kerfuffle, as the Roma defender clips Osimhen in the head with his wayward arm. It’s far from any dangerous contact, but Osimhen did not appreciate the extra physicality, and N’Dicka did not back down from his opponent’s advances.
Then moments later Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro gets a yellow card for absolutely berating the fourth official following another foul called on Osimhen. The Super Eagles boss did not appreciate the whistle blown for his striker’s involvement in an aerial challenge overtop Franck Kessie.
20th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! Another weird mistake at the back for Nigeria as Zaidu Sanusi concedes a corner out of nothing, attempting to head the ball back to his goalkeeper but Stanley Nwabali was nowhere close.
The set-piece delivery falls to Evan N’Dicka at the far post and he goes for the absolutely stunning bicycle kick finish from point-blank range, but his effort hits the side netting. That would have been spectacular and he made good contact, but puts it just inches wide!
11th min: Yikes, Ola Aina looks to clear another Ivorian cross from the right, and blasts it over his own crossbar. That was nervously close to an own-goal. The ensuing corner results in a Seko Fofana shot that’s right into the arms of Stanley Nwabali.
Frank Onyeka then pummels Fofana in midfield, and himself is lucky not to be booked for that thumping midair challenge. The hosts have been by far the better side through the opening stage of this match.
9th min: Franck Kessie is off to the races down the right, and Calvin Bassey shoves him in the back to stop the breakaway, a cynical foul that maybe was deserving of a booking but does not draw an early yellow. Kessie is down needing treatment, as he hit the deck quite hard.
The free-kick is not taken well and easily cleared, but as Ademola Lookman handles the ball while trying to collect the clearance, so it gives the hosts another dead ball opportunity. That one’s also denied by Nigeria’s stout defensive line.
7th min: Chance, Ivory Coast! It’s the first real chance of the match as Ivory Coast misfire on a corner but recycle possession and send a ball to the back post from Max Gradel. The ball is vicious, but evades two attackers, one at the near post and one at the far post, as it goes just out of Sebastien Haller’s reach and out of play. That’s very close!
6th min: It’s been an extremely physical opening few minutes, as Victor Osimhen gets a talking to from the Mauritanian referee after an aggressive foul from behind. There’s been four fouls already in the opening five-plus minutes. You can tell both sets of players have plenty of adrenaline coursing through their veins!
Kickoff: They’re under way at Alassane Ouattara Stadium! An African champion will be crowned at the conclusion of this match, with so much glory on the line in this venue.