Hosts Ivory Coast have to worry about reaching the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations. There was a clear defeat against Equatorial Guinea in the last preliminary round game.
After the disastrous 0:4 (0:1) on Monday evening (January 22nd, 2024), the team around the unused Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou only finished the preliminary round Group A in third place. Group winners Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, which defeated Guinea-Bissau 1-0 (1-0) at the same time, are through to the next round.
Schedule and results arrow right Table Group A arrow right
The Ivory Coast must now hope to be one of the four best third-place teams after completing the other five preliminary round groups. Then coach Jean-Louis Gasset’s team would also move into the round of 16 despite the meager return of three points (2:5 goals). As early as 1984, when the country also hosted the Africa Cup of Nations, it was over after the preliminary round.
Equatorial Guinea’s Luis Nlavo (l.) in a duel with Evan Ndicka (r.) from Ivory Coast