The Ivory Coast team won the 34th edition of the African Cup, in which it played at home, by beating Nigeria at the Alassane Ouattara stadium in Abdijan, overcoming Troost-Ekong’s initial goal in the 37th minute with goals from the former Barça’s Kessié in ’61 and with another from Sebastian Haller in ’81. This is the third time that the ‘elephants’ team has won the trophy, which they last lifted in 2015 against the Ghana team.
Ivory Coast carried the weight of the match at all times. From the first half they were clearly superior to their rival, who had their best man in goalkeeper Nwabali. With Seri, Kessié and Fofana, Ivory Coast put a lot of pressure in the midfield and Nigeria chose to interrupt the game with many fouls.
In full pressure in their goal, Nigeria managed to launch an attack and provoke a corner kick in the 37th minute. The captain and center back of the Greek PAOK, Troost-Ekong, rose above Aurier at the far post and advanced his team on the scoreboard.
The second half began in a similar way, with Ivory Coast attacking and Nigeria locked down. In the 51st minute the VAR reviewed whether a penalty had been taken on Gradel, which was not awarded.
In the 61st minute the tie finally came, long deserved by the Ivory Coast. Former Barcelona player Franck Kessié headed in an Adingra cross. In the 80th minute the comeback was achieved with another cross from Adingra and a shot from Haller, the Dortmund striker. Nigeria tried to equalize in the seven minutes of added time, where they closed in on Ivory Coast’s goal, but time slipped away with more than a few failed shots.
