2-1! The hosts won the championship again! The testicular cancer fighters went crazy and Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time
At 4:00 a.m. Beijing time on February 12, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final: Nigeria VS Ivory Coast.
Nigeria and Ivory Coast are both traditional powerhouses in African football, but before the start of the tournament and even in the group stage, the prospects of these two champions are not optimistic.
Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations three times in 1980, 1994 and 2013, and the last time it won the championship was ten years ago, in the last Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria was eliminated by Tunisia in the 1/8 finals.
The African Cup of Nations is different from the Asian Cup and the European Cup, the Asian Cup and the European Cup are held every four years, and the African Cup of Nations is held every two years, which is more "weekly cup" than the Copa America, and since 2013, the African Cup of Nations has been held five times.
Ivory Coast team history 1992, 2015 won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, the last Africa Cup of Nations 1/ 8 finals were eliminated by Egypt, although it was the host, but the results of the group stage of Côte d'Ivoire were quite bad, 2:0 Guinea-Bissau, 0:1 Nigeria, 0:4 Equatorial Guinea, the head coach got out of class, and finally luckily advanced to the knockout round with one of the four best group thirds, it is impossible to call the dismissed coach back, and wanted to secondment the coach of the French women's national football team to command a few games temporarily, but was rejected by the French Football Federation, so he had to let the bishop temporarily top, and the miracle happened! From almost not qualifying from the group, to reaching the final all the way.
However, these two teams will meet in the final, which can be regarded as living up to expectations, after all, both are traditional giants in African football, and there are many stars playing in Europe's top five leagues, which is much better than the Asian Cup final, Qatar vs Jordan, two second-rate Asian teams competing for the title.
Yes, Nigeria started in a 343 formation, with center forward Osimhen, Lukman and Chukwueze on both sides, midfielders Sanusi, Iwobi, Onyeka, Aina, three central defenders Basi, Ekong, Ayayi, and goalkeeper Stanley. The starting eleven is worth a total of 230 million euros.
Ivory Coast started the 433 formation, Alai and Adigra and Gradel formed a forward trident, midfielders Fofana, Seri, Kessie, four defenders Konan, Ndicka, Kosonu, Aurier, goalkeeper Fofana. The total value of the starting eleven is 160 million euros.
In the 39th minute, Nigeria got a corner kick from the left side and drove it into the penalty area, which was cleared, and Ekong scored with a header. Nigeria leads Ivory Coast 1-0.
Africa's hosts don't have three penalties, but they have hard power. In the 62nd minute, a corner kick from the left side of Ivory Coast was driven into the penalty area, and Kessie scored with a header. Ivory Coast tied the score at 1:1.
In the 82nd minute, Adygee crossed from the left side, and Alai volleyed the goal. Ivory Coast overtook Nigeria 2:1, this is a killer goal!
In the end, Ivory Coast defeated Nigeria 2-1 to lift the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time in their history.
Argentina's opponents selected for China's trip in March were Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria, and the two teams that will meet in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations have to admire the foresight of the Argentine Football Association. These two games were originally scheduled to be played in Hangzhou and Beijing in China, but not long ago, Messi did not abide by the rules of the game and did not play, which led to the cancellation of the Argentine China trip, which was unexpected by the Argentine Football Association.