Ivory Coast won the CAN that it organized. In Abidjan, the Elephants beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final after trailing at half-time.
Despite a clear Ivorian domination, the Super Eagles struck first on a header from Troost-Ekong (38th). But Ivory Coast was able to react thanks to goals from Kessié (62nd) and Haller (81st) to win the third CAN in its history after 1992 and 2015. And to think that the Elephants had come close to elimination in the group stage …
The victory of the host country in this match is deserved. Nigeria evolved too timidly and defensively. Most of the play was done by the Ivorians, who could have won more clearly with more precision in the last move.
This final also took on a little historical side. It is in fact the first with the Ivorians in which goals are scored. The previous four had in fact been decided on penalties after a 0-0!
/ATS