Nightmare for Ivory Coast: Loss to Equatorial Guinea Puts Qualification in Jeopardy

Nightmare evening for Ivory Coast. At the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ébimpé, the Elephants had their destiny in their hands in this CAN 2023 since a victory against Equatorial Guinea would have assured them a ticket for the round of 16. Finally, the locals sank throughout the match and Nzalang Nacional largely won (4-0) thanks to goals from Nsue (double), Ganet Buyla. Third in Group A with three points, the Ivorians are more in danger than ever and their chances of qualifying are diminishing while the Equatorial Guineans finish first with seven points.

Tiny Elephants

All the favorites, or almost all, have been shaken up since the start of the competition. The Elephants, expected to be among the teams capable of going all the way to the title, did not escape it. After a defeat against Nigeria, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men had to win to qualify and started the match flat-footed. Despite clear possession, the locals nevertheless missed a clear opportunity and were finally surprised shortly before half-time with a breakthrough from Akapo and a good finish from Nsue (41st). 1-0 at the break.

Returning from the locker room, the Elephants continued to push and believed to equalize thanks to Jean-Philippe Krasso, who had just come on, but his goal was refused for an offside position (67th), just like Ibrahim Sangaré in the first period (45+1). Then, Ivory Coast conceded a superb direct free kick from Ganet (73rd) and seemed to give up subsequently with a third Equatorial Guinean goal, the double for Nsue (75th). The fifth goal in three matches for the number 10 of Nzalang Nacional. Finally, Buyla finished finishing off the Elephants on the ground with a fourth pawn (88th). 4-0, final score.

There is still hope

With this second defeat in three matches, the Ivorians finish with three points in this group A while Equatorial Guinea finishes first ahead of Nigeria. As a reminder, the four best third-placed teams in the group stage obtain a ticket to the round of 16. To be part of it, Ivory Coast must now hope for a defeat for Zambia against Morocco, a setback for Algeria against Mauritania and missteps for Ghana and Cameroon against Mozambique and the Gambia. After spending an entire evening hoping, the Elephants will now spend their next few days calculating.

2024-01-22 19:26:00
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