Ivory Coast deserved to win the match and be crowned champion (French)
The Ivory Coast national team completed its historic comeback to win the African Cup of Nations title with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final match held at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Ivory Coast overturned its deficit with a goal scored by William Troost Ekong, captain of Nigeria, in the first half, and scored two goals in the second half through Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.
The Ivory Coast national team thus won the African Cup of Nations title for the third time in its history after the 1992 and 2015 editions.
The Ivory Coast team was close to bidding farewell to the tournament in the group stage after losing 0-4 to Equatorial Guinea in the third round, and was forced to wait until the last day of the group stage to advance to the elimination rounds among the best third-place finishers, and continue on its way to winning the title.
William Troost-Ekong gives Nigeria the advantage from the header #Africa_Cup_Final #AFCON2023 | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023Final pic.twitter.com/y0U4EZ4pJa
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 11, 2024
Kessier equalizes with an unstoppable header #Africa_Cup_Final #AFCON2023 | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023Final pic.twitter.com/SUhTUNEeDT
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) February 11, 2024
As for the individual awards in the continental championship, they were as follows:
Best player of the tournament:
Nigerian William Troost Ekong
Great performance throughout the tournament 👌
William Ekong wins the Total Energies Award for Best Player in #Africa_Nations 2023 after leading Nigeria to the final 🇳🇬#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/8Cb2PHph6P
- CAF - Arabic (@caf_online_AR) February 11, 2024
Top scorer:
Emilio Nso from Equatorial Guinea, scoring 5 goals in 4 matches. https://x.com/caf_online_AR/status/1756809761645801940?s=20
Best goalkeeper in the tournament:
South African Ronwen Williams. https://x.com/caf_online_AR/status/1756808766861783226?s=20
Fair Play Award: South Africa national team. https://x.com/caf_online_AR/status/1756809391213322633?s=20
Best coach: Emers Fay, coach of Ivory Coast.
Tactic 💯
Emers Fay, coach of the Côte d'Ivoire national team, is the best coach in #Africa_Nations_2023 after winning the precious cup 🏆#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/55LXhBmP6m
- CAF - Arabic (@caf_online_AR) February 11, 2024
Best Young Player: Ivory Coast's Simon Adingra.
A talent that imposed itself in the stadiums of Côte d'Ivoire 🌟
The best emerging player in #Africa_Nations_2023 is Simon Adingra, the “Elephants” team player 👏🇨🇮#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/dXsjUIJ0K0
- CAF - Arabic (@caf_online_AR) February 11, 2024
Source: Agencies