The hosts Ivory Coast defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0 on Wednesday to go to the Africa Cup of Nations final. Sebastien Haller was the game’s hero, scoring the game’s lone goal.
In the 65th minute at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium, Borussia Dortmund striker Haller made his tournament debut after suffering an injury. His shot looped over the goalkeeper and in. Haller connected with a cross from Max-Alain Gradel.
That was sufficient to end a heated but competitive semifinal match; the Ivorians will now play Nigeria at the same location on Sunday to determine the winner.
The two-time champions are the first host nation to make it to the Cup of Nations final since Egypt did so in 2006, and their incredible comeback from almost elimination in the group stage is truly astounding.
For DR Congo, on the other hand, who had been dreaming of making their first participation in an AFCON final since they were champions as Zaire in 1974, it was an agonizing setback.
The Ivory Coast’s interim coach, Emerse Fae, had referred to the team’s run in the tournament as “miraculous” on the eve of this match. Gasset was fired after the team had terrible group stage results.
Having been humiliated and nearly eliminated following a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea on January 22, this was their first game back at the dusty Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in Abidjan.
As the last of the four best third-place teams, the Elephants barely made it to the round of16, where they defeated Senegal, the defending champions, on penalties.
After that, they defeated Mali in the quarterfinals, winning extra time even though they only had ten men for the majority of the game.
The match-winning goal scorer against Mali, Oumar Diakite, was sent off during his celebration and was suspended along with Christian Kouame, captain Serge Aurier, and Odilon Kossounou.
Simon Adingra, a Brighton winger who scored the equalizer against Mali, and Haller, the talisman striker who was at last totally healthy, were among those making way in.
When DR Congo previously competed in the AFCON semifinals in 2015, they were beaten 3-1 by the Ivorians. This time, they were seeking revenge.
Congolese demonstration
Their players’ will to bring attention to the predicament of the millions of Congolese impacted by the ongoing violence in the country’s east has motivated them throughout this competition.
The Congo squad demonstrated during the playing of the national anthem by covering their mouths with one hand while pretending to have a rifle pointed at their heads with the other.
The Leopards had the ball in the net in the ninth minute, seemingly undisturbed by the angry home crowd.
The ball was knocked out of goalkeeper Yahia Fofana’s hands and into the corner by Cedric Bakambu, but the Libyan referee disallowed the goal due to a foul.
The Ivorians had the best opportunities of the first half and became more dangerous as halftime drew near.
In the fortyth minute, Haller emerged from the box unmarked, but he managed to head wide from Wilfried Singo’s tempting cross. Franck Kessie hit a shot off the post a few moments later.
Just before the hour, Kessie made another danger with a strong shot that drew a response from goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, but the breakthrough came shortly after.
Max-Alain Gradel extended his right arm to present a cross into the box, and Haller swung his leg hoping instead of expecting. Despite the poor connection, the ball bounced off the ground, looped over the defenseless Mpasi’s head, and entered the net.
There were wild festivities and Fae was jumping around in his special area.
With just Mpasi to beat, the hosts went for the kill, with Haller heading onto the roof of the goal from an Adingra corner and putting a lob wide.
A thunderous cheer greeted the final whistle, and one goal was sufficient.
Leave a Reply