Ivory Coast crowned as the best of Africa

Match details

Nigeria 1 - 2 Ivory Coast
Date: February 11th, 2024
Stadium: Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé

Starting XI:

The best of Africa: Ivory Coast

In the final of the 34th tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Nigeria and the host Ivory Coast faced each other. Ivory Coast won the match 2-1 and had a happy ending in the tournament it hosted.

The first goal came from Nigeria. With William Troost-Ekong scoring in the 38th minute, the fans thought the winner of the cup would be Nigeria until the 62nd minute. With less than 30 minutes left, the Ivory Coast equalized as Franck Kessié's goal tied the score. The winner came from Sébastien Haller in the 81st minute.

While Ivory Coast fans were celebrating th goal with great enthusiasm and excitement, they were now counting the seconds for the game to end. The game, with eight minutes added to regular time, further increased the excitement of the Ivory Coast fans. However, with the final whistle blown, the stands started celebrating the victory. Didier Drogba was the one who brought the AFCON trophy out ahead of the final. He celebrated this cup, which came to his homeland for the third time, with great joy.

Ivory Coast also received a prize money of seven million dollars. Finalist Nigeria won four million dollars.

Undefeated, Nigeria lost in the final

These two national teams, competing together in group A, met for the first time on Jan.18, and it ended with Nigeria winning 1-0. Coming to the final undefeated, Nigeria suffered its first defeat in the final. On the other hand, Ivory Coast, which lost two of its three matches in the group, completed the tournament with the cup.

You can watch the Ivory Coast's championship journey below:

Ivory Coast claims third cup victory, Egypt reigns as all-time champions

Ivory Coast won the cup for the third time having won it in 1992 and 2015.

Egypt, which has won it seven times in the history of the tournament, stands out as the most successful team. They won the cup in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, and the last one in 2010.

The best of the tournament

In the final match, Simon Adingra, contributing two assists for Cote d’Ivoire, was honored as the TotalEnergies Man of the Match. Despite Nigeria not securing the championship, their captain, William Troost-Ekong, was named the TotalEnergies Best Player. Emilio Nsue Lopez of Equatorial Guinea clinched the Puma Golden Boot award for his outstanding performance, netting five goals during the competition.

Ronwen Williams, the goalkeeper for South Africa's Bafana Bafana, was recognized as the Ecobank Best Goalkeeper for his remarkable saves, including a record four penalty stops against Equatorial Guinea and two against DR Congo. Bafana Bafana received the Fair Play Air Cote d’Ivoire Team award alongside their third-place finish, with South Africa also being honored with the Fair Play award for their sportsmanship throughout the tournament.

Here is the complete list & Awards for Ivory Coast Team:

• Winner: Cote d’Ivoire
• Finalist: Nigeria
• Third: South Africa
• Fourth: Democratic Republic of Congo
• TotalEnergies Best Player: William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria)
• Puma Golden Boat: Emilio Nsue Lopez
• Ecobank Best Goalkeeper: Ronwen Williams (South Africa)
• Fair-Play Air Côte d’Ivoire Team: South Africa
• Best Young Player: Simon Adingra (Cote d’Ivoire)
• Best Coach: Emerse Faé (Cote d’Ivoire)