The Super Eagles Grabs Second Position in the AFCON 2023 Final

The Elephants of Ivory Coast beat the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1 in the AFCON 2023 final at Hassane Watara' stadium, Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Sunday, 11 February 2024.

The Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the third time with the come-back winning over the Super Eagles.

Nigeria looked set to repeat their 1-0 victory over the Ivorians at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium during the group stage when Captain William Troost-Ekong who had netted a penalty to decide that first meeting rose to head in the opener late in the first half.

Ivory Coast produced a fairytale ending to the most remarkable run at the Africa Cup of Nations. They were very much the better side in the opening 45 minutes, but William Troost-Ekong’s header against the run of play gave Nigeria advantage at the break. The Super Eagles had conceded just two goals on their run to the final and, at the halfway stage, looked destined to grind out another narrow win and turned out to become runner-up.

It has to be recalled that the hosts lost two of their group-stage matches, sacked their manager and then pulled off a penalty-shootout victory and a 122nd-minute winner on their way to booking an improbable place in the final.

And yet,  less than three weeks after they were hammered 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea to end Jean-Louis Gasset’s reign and leave them on the brink of elimination, Ivory Coast served up another memorable night, this time one that sparked wild celebrations in Abidjan.

It is celebration in Abidjan tonight! Well play the Super Eagles…!