Ivory Coast's victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals on Feb 7 leaves them just a step away from completing arguably the most remarkable turnaround in major international tournament history.
Sebastien Haller's goal was enough to give the host nation a 1-0 win over DR Congo at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium and set up a final date at the same venue on Feb 11 against Nigeria.
Just like in 2019 in Egypt - where Algeria beat Senegal 1-0 in the first round and did so again to win the title the Afcon final will be contested between two teams who met in the group stage.
Ivory Coast lost 1-0 to the Nigerians in Abidjan on Jan 18 and followed that with a harrowing 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea four days later.
It was their heaviest-ever home defeat and it made them the first Afcon hosts to lose two group matches since the Ivorians themselves in 1984.
Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked, and the team waited to find out if they would somehow stay in the competition thanks to other results.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 10, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 10, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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