In the last seconds of overtime, Ivory Coast won its quarter-final against Mali (2-1) to qualify for the semi-final and face DR Congo. The Ivorians, reduced to 10 in the first period, again achieved a huge feat.
Published on: 02/03/2024 – 8:45 p.m. Modified on: 02/03/2024 – 8:55 p.m.
4 mn
From our special correspondent in Bouaké,
In the qualifiers section, the stock will eventually be exhausted to define this team of Ivory Coast in this CAN. Crazy, incredible, giant, indestructible and everything the dictionary can count as words to define this enormous feat achieved by the Emerse Faé team. Saturday, against Mali, we went beyond the miracle, we are still searching for the words to talk about this magnificent upset against Mali who had everything to go to the semi-final.
First there was this image…We don’t remember seeing Faé running so fast on a field when he was playing in the French championship (Nantes, Nice). We’re hardly exaggerating. In the heat of Bouaké and in the cauldron of the Stade de la Paix, the Ivorian coach sprinted towards an unknown destination when his team equalized by Simon Adingra (90th). While darkness had finished settling over Bouaké, covering the last hopes of the Ivorians trailing 1-0 and reduced to 10, Simon Adingra emerged and did the job, almost single-handedly. The Brighton striker (Premier League) equalized in an indescribable atmosphere, triggering the meltdown of the stadium.
Read alsoCAN 2024: The calendar and all the results
Once again, Ivory Coast has come back from nowhere. Like during his miraculous qualification after the first round, and like his victory on penalties in the eighth against Senegal. The best was to come with this madjer from Oumar Diakité at the end of extra time (120th) after a strike from Seko Fofana. Diakité, in tears after the rout in the first round against Equatorial Guinea (0-4) while the Elephants were at the gates of their CAN. The tears were for the camp opposite, the Malians who let this place slip away in the semi-finals.
Odillon Kossounou sees red
This quarter-final between two neighboring and “brotherly” countries could indeed have gone the other way. Because Eric Chelle’s men had great opportunities to take the advantage, notably on a penalty caused by defender Odilon Kossounou (15th) on Lassine Sinayoko. But Adama Traoré Noss lost his duel with Yahia Fofana. The Ivorian miracle continues…
But Odilon Kossounou, already warned about the action of the penalty and on the verge of breaking since the start of the match, broke down before half-time by committing a new foul on Sinayoko who had opened the path to the goal. Second yellow card and logical expulsion for the Ivorian central defender. The Elephants will have to play with 10 men for at least one half with Max-Alain Gradel placed back on the right side after the break and the exit of Serge Aurier.
Read alsoRelive the match commented by our journalists
We thought the match had definitely changed when Nene Dorgeles opened the scoring (72nd) with just over a quarter of an hour remaining. Dorgeles, quite a symbol! The Malian midfielder, born in Kayes to Ivorian parents, had measured joy when celebrating his goal. However, he had reason to be proud, his opening score was so magnificent; a strike from 20 meters which lands in the top corner and freezes the Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana at the same time as the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké.
But Elephants have tough skin! Even at 10, even behind and dominated, they still found the resources to equalize in the last minutes of the second half and push the Malians to overtime. And they could even have led in turn with this header from Sébastien Haller which ended up on the crossbar of Djigui Diarra (95th).
Surprisingly, this equalization transcends Emerse Faé’s men who play better, free themselves, and were carried by a magnificent orange audience. Mali is contained, displays its excitement and cannot make the difference, until this backheel from Diakité.
The Ivorians are in the semi-final and they deserved it. This team is not a steamroller, it had a lot of difficulty playing the game against this very playful Mali. The powerful midfielder, played by the Fofana-Kessié pair, has often come up against the perpetual movement of the men in the Malian midfield, but she has a heart that moves mountains and an audience now totally committed to her cause. Will these pledges be enough to beat the DRC in the semi-final and win the Cup? “ Impossible is not Ivorian », would respond the 40,000 spectators in Bouaké and the 27 million Ivorians.
2024-02-03 19:45:39
#ten #Côte #dIvoire #overthrows #Mali #joins #DRC #semifinal
