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.
Denne historien er fra February 10, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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Denne historien er fra February 10, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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