1-0! The final match of the Africa Cup of Nations was released, and Ivory Coast won three consecutive victories and reached the final strongly
The semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations are contested, with Côte d'Ivoire facing the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ranked 49th in the world, Ivory Coast is a strong force and has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice. Ivory Coast's results in the group stage were not good, with 1 win and 2 losses in 3 group games, and it was very thrilling to advance as the third place in the group. In the 1/8 finals, Ivory Coast met Senegal, the favorite to win the championship. As a result, Côte d'Ivoire eliminated their opponents through a penalty shootout. Subsequently, Ivory Coast met Mali, and after extra time, Ivory Coast counterattacked in a thrilling counterattack. Every game in Ivory Coast has been very tough. This time, Ivory Coast faced the Democratic Republic of Congo, and as a result, Ivory Coast won the match 1-0 and reached the final.
Ivory Coast lined up 4231 formations for this match. Alai is at the forefront. Gradel, Fofana and Adingra joined forces to attack. Casey and Serry are paired in a double midfield. The back four of Singo, Boehly, Ndicka and Konan started the game. Yahya Fofana was the starting goalkeeper. The starting lineup of Ivory Coast is worth a whopping 120 million euros, while the starting lineup of the Democratic Republic of Congo is worth a total of 62.5 million euros.
Shortly after the start of the game, Bakambu scored the goal. However, because of the interference with the goalkeeper first, the goal was invalidated, and Bai was happy. Nine minutes later, Adingra nodded in the box and the ball went just wide of the right-hand post. In the 23rd minute, Bakambu fired a barbed shot from the middle of the penalty area, which was blocked by a defender in front of him. Then, Wissa fired a solo shot from close range that was blocked by the goalkeeper. Even if the goal is scored, it is useless, he is already offside.
In the 40th minute, Alai hit the goal with a header when he was empty, but the result was deflected, which was incredible. Three minutes later, Kessie volleyed into the far corner from the edge of the box and the ball bounced off the post. At half-time, the score was still 0-0! Ivory Coast had 59% possession in the first half and had 6 shots on goal, none of which were on target. The Democratic Republic of the Congo failed to score three shots in the first half.
In the second half, it was easy to play again. In the 48th minute, Bongonda shot with a single shot from a small angle and kicked wide. In the 59th minute, Kessie shot with a fierce shot from the perimeter, with great power, but the angle was not tricky enough, and the goalkeeper saved the ball. In the 65th minute, the deadlock on the field was finally broken. Alli kicked the ball into the corner from inside the box, and the shot was a bit of luck. In the 78th minute, Elia's long-range shot was deflected wide. As a result, Côte d'Ivoire eliminated the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0, and Côte d'Ivoire won three consecutive victories and advanced to the final. The Africa Cup of Nations final is out, and Ivory Coast will face Nigeria.