Against popular expectation, Côte d’Ivoire bundled defending champions Senegal out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after a pulsating Round of 16 encounter at Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, the Ivorien capital city, on Monday night.
Côte d’Ivoire won 4-3 penalties. The game had ended 1-1 after extra time.
Few fans gave the host nation a chance to withstand the incredible Senegalese, the only side to win all matches at the group stage, scoring eight times and conceding only once.
In contrast, two-time champions (1992 and 2015) Côte d’Ivoire only managed a win in Group A of the ongoing edition of Africa’s flagship football competition. After beating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 on the opening day of AFCON 2023, the Ivorien Elephants lost to Nigeria by a lone goal and were walloped 0-4 by Equatorial Guinea, requiring a huge chunk of luck to progress to the knockout stage as one of the four best third placed saide.
The game was only four minutes old on Monday when Senegal struck through Habibou Diallo to give Senegal advantage. All efforts by the defending champions were thwarted by the hosts.
Twenty-seven-year-old midfielder Franck Kessié drew the Ivorien level with four minutes to the end of regulation time.
Neither side could find the net again even in extra time.
