Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) hosts Ivory Coast made a remarkable comeback beating the defending champions, Senegal, to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.
This comes just a week after the Afcon hosts suffered a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, a defeat that seemed to be the end of their campaign.
However, the team, led by Sébastien Haller, did the unexpected on Monday night.
They showed determination, which led to a penalty scored by Franck Kessié, levelling the match.
The game went to a penalty shootout, where Ivory Coast emerged victorious, thanks to another Kessié penalty kick.
Senegal, who performed exceptionally well in the group stages, appeared to be in control of the match after scoring an early goal.
The game changed with the entry of Haller, who played a key role in Ivory Coast’s comeback.
Despite the early advantage, Senegal could not maintain their lead and were ultimately eliminated, continuing the trend where no defending champion has reached the quarter-finals since Egypt in 2010.
Ivory Coast’s victory in the tournament is all the more surprising given the recent dismissal of their coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, after a poor run in the group stages that saw the team only narrowly progress into the knockout stages.
Emerse Faé, a former Reading midfielder with no prior coaching experience, has temporarily taken charge.
The hosts will face either Mali or Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals.
Pictured above: Ivory Coast celebrating their victory.
Image source: X
