It was a remarkable turnaround for the Elephants, who were on the edge of elimination after losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea at the same stadium in their final group match on January 22.
That defeat was Côte d’Ivoire’s heaviest ever home loss and they looked certain to be eliminated in the first round, only to scrape through as the last of the four best third-placed teams, thanks to Morocco winning their last group game against Zambia.
Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was kicked out following the Equatorial Guinea disaster making way for Emerse Fae, the assistant, who was promoted to the role of interim coach.
Under him, Côte d’Ivoire beat holders Senegal on penalties in the last 16 and then came from behind to beat Mali in extra time in the quarterfinals, despite playing most of that match with 10 men.
Sebastien Haller scored the only goal of the game in the 65th minute at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium to take Côte d’Ivoire through to Sunday’s final against Nigeria.
In a scintillating clash against D.R. Congo, Haller’s goal proved pivotal in Côte d’Ivoire’s relentless pursuit for a victory.
“As long as you still have a five or 10 percent chance you need to keep believing because that is what makes football beautiful,” said midfielder Franck Kessie, who was named man of the match against DR Congo.
Sunday’s final will be a repeat of the group game between Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria on January 18, which the Super Eagles won 1-0.
Côte d’Ivoire coach Emerse Fae described his team’s winning through to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations as being “like a dream” after the tournament hosts beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in the second semi-final class yesterday.
“We are happy when you go back two weeks to the defeat here against Equatorial Guinea. It was hard then to imagine that we might qualify for the final of the AFCON.”
Fae is suddenly on the brink of a continental triumph as a head coach, something he could not have imagined going into the tournament.
The two-time champions are the first host country to reach the final of the Cup of Nations since Egypt in 2006, and the turnaround is remarkable for a team that was close to being shown the exit.
