Zimbabwean News You Can Trust
Ivory Coast have secured three Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titles after they won a remarkable tournament on home soil last night, defeating fellow West Africans Nigeria.
The Elephants fought from a goal down in the final in Abidjan to defeat Nigeria 2-1, with Sebastien Haller scoring the winning goal less than two yrs after a diagnosis of testicular cancer that put his professional career in jeopardy.
Triumphing in front of a jubilant home crowd capped a remarkable tournament for Ivory Coast, who sacked their head coach after a 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in the group stages and only scraped into the knockouts because other results went their way.
They have now won the AFCON three times, a tally bettered only by three nations. Nigeria has also won the tournament three times.
Ivory Coast’s win elevates it to join the top five African countries with most AFCON titles. The West African nation now sits on number four, with Egypt on top of with seven AFCON titles, followed by Cameroon, which has five, and Ghana with four.
Meanwhile, the next AFCON tournament will be played in Morocco. Unlike the previous AFCON tournaments, the 2025 finals are expected to be held in June and July, because of the northern hemisphere’s summer.