2024 AFRICA CUP - Final - DAY 21 - Nigeria vs Côte d'Ivoire 1:2
DAY 21
Match 52
Nigeria vs Côte d'Ivoire 1:2
FACTS
Ivory Coast is the new Africa Cup of Nations winner after coming from behind to defeat Nigeria in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
GOAL
Nigeria
William Troost-Ekong 38'
GOALS
Côte d'Ivoire
Franck Kessié 62'
Sébastien Haller 81'
DETAILS
The hosts started as the better, more aggressive team, creating chances on goal and playing with a confidence that they’ve lacked throughout the rest of the tournament. The fans inside the stadium gave the match a lively and excitable atmosphere but Nigeria threatened to provide an upset.
In a rare attack up the pitch they won a corner that came curling onto the head of William Troost-Ekong who nodded it into the back of the net for the opener to give them the lead at half-time.
Ivory Coast didn’t give in. They came out for the second half with gusto and equalised through a set piece of their own. Franck Kessie drifting into space and powering a header into the deck before it bounced into the net. A sign of fate perhaps came at the end of the game. Sebastien Haller, who missed the start of the tournament through injury, stuck his foot onto a cross and turned it past Stanley Nwabali to decide the match.