Ivory Coast has won the Africa Cup of Nations after a 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Sunday.
Sébastien Haller scored the winning goal for the hosts in the 81st minute with an instinctive finish after excellent work from Simon Adingra on the left wing.
William Troost-Ekong had given Nigeria the lead in the first half with a header from a dangerous corner routine. A front-post scramble between several players saw the original delivery loop into the air, and the Nigeria captain leapt to head the ball into the net.
Franck Kessié equalised from an Adingra corner in the 62nd minute, before Haller’s late intervention decided the fate of the tournament.
It marked Ivory Coast’s third AFCON triumph, bringing them level with Nigeria as the joint-fourth most successful team in tournament history, and first since 2015.
Only Ghana (4), Cameroon (5) and Egypt (7) have more. It is the fifth time Nigeria have fallen short at the final hurdle of the competition.
FIFA president, Gianni Infantino was in attendance at the final, as was Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba.
The result is all the more remarkable given Ivory Coast’s victorious coach, Emerse Faé, only took over as coach after the group stage.
Veteran Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset was the manager at the start of the competition, but saw his team lose two of three games in that preliminary round to fall to the brink of elimination.
