This is a scene which is cause for concern four months before the start of CAN 2023. Due to severe bad weather which made the pitch impassable, the friendly match between Côte d’Ivoire, future host country, and the Mali, had to be definitively interrupted at half-time this Tuesday at the Stade Olympique d’Ebimpé. The score was 0-0.
At the end of a very competitive start to the game, due to the derby, the Elephants had the opportunity to take the lead. But Haller had wasted a caviar from Hamed Traoré by sending it to the post. A failure which could have had serious consequences because the Malian reaction was quick. Three times, Ibrahima Koné had the 1-0 ball at the end of his foot. But the Almeria striker fumbled his recovery in the area, then sent his header clearly wide, before shooting at Yahia Fofana even though he was in an offside position anyway.
Serious ! The Ebimpé lawn is a shame for Ivory Coast. Besides, this rain has just proven it ???? pic.twitter.com/EtWwF2CfeF
— Yao Moses K. (@yaomoisekatumbi) September 12, 2023
The rain got the better of the derby
On returning from the locker room, under downpours of water and while the drainage system of the lawn was experiencing major problems, the refereeing body finally decided, after long minutes of discussions, to definitively interrupt this derby, the state of the ground no longer making it possible to guarantee the physical integrity of the 22 actors. An organizational hiccup necessarily worrying as the CAN approaches, what’s more in a brand new stadium expected to host the final… As a reminder, the competition initially scheduled for June-July 2023 has been postponed from January 13, 2024 to 11 February 2024 to avoid coinciding with the rainy season.
#Ivory Coast ???????? vs
#Mali ????????stopped at half-time with a score of 0-0, following heavy rain which made the pitch impassable. pic.twitter.com/luD2WFx1Do— FEMAFOOT (@femafoot) September 12, 2023
Ivory Coast-Mali compositions
2023-09-12 21:23:47
#Ivory #CoastMali #derby #falls
