Ivory Coast fell behind towards the end of the first half thanks to a goal from Greek legionnaire William Troost-Ekong, but not for the first time in this African Cup of Nations, they fought back successfully. After an hour, Franck Kessié equalized, and Sébastien Haller scored the winning goal in the 81st minute.
Big comeback during the tournament
The hosts, who started the tournament unconvincingly as an outsider, perfected their fairy tale. Captain Serge Aurier’s team only survived the preliminary round with a lot of luck and thanks to support and even changed their coach during the tournament.
Under Emerse Faé, the successor to Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset, the Ivory Coast went on to win the knockout phase in a penalty shootout against Senegal, in extra time against Mali, with a 1-0 win against Congo and finally in the final Defeat against Nigeria.