Ivory Coast have done it, they have become the latest winners of the African Cup of Nations. What a ride it has been! The 29 year old striker, Sebastian Haller scored Ivory Coast their winning goal. Not only was this a big step and memorable moment in his football career but in his own personal journey as well. This is the third time Ivory Coast have won the African Cup of Nations.
Ivory Coast were this year’s host for the 2024 African cup of nations. The west African country qualified to continue their journey in the tournament when they became the runners up of their initial group. After competing against some tough opponents they managed to fight off their opposition and be the one to lift the trophy of AFCON 2024.
After a bumpy group stage the team sacked their manager mid tournament and brought in caretaker manager Emerse Fae, who has seen them through to be successful and win the rest of the tournament. As the host nation you could say they had the home field advantage as they got to play in their own country on their own pitches however this is not necessarily the case many of their players play for a whole range of international teams.
Ivory coast beat Nigeria in a tense final of this years AFCON which was held at Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé. The now champions came from behind to win with the final score being, Nigeria 1 - 2 Ivory Coast. Nigeria's goal score was William Troost - Ekong who scored in the 38th minute of the game. When it comes to Ivory Coast, Franck Kessie scored at 62 minutes. The winning goal was scored by Sebastian Haller. The striker currently plays for Borussia Dortmund alongside the like of Jude Bellingham. His journey in and out of the sport of football has not being the easier due to his diagnosis of testicular cancer. However his is now well on with his recovery. To add to his resilient storyline he scored the amazing final goal of the tournament which lead his country onto victory.
Due to their victory in this years African Cup of nations residents of Ivory coast had a public holiday and lined the streets on the Monday after the game. The streets will full of celebration and happiness while the team paraded around to show off the trophy and celebrate with all who had supported them.
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