In a match that seemed to be in hand, Cote d'Ivoire completely collapsed, losing 4-0 against Equatorial Guinea, who played a perfect game to finish top of Group A. With three points, the Elephants now have to wait. Results of other groups to know if they are eligible.
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Jean-Louis Cassette warned after the defeat against Nigeria. Forget about this match soon and focus on the next match “. Unfortunately, the display in this match was worse than his previous match. Disappointed with the performance of his attackers, the Ivorians coach decided to review his squad for this match, giving Nicolas Pepe at the front of the attack and Omar Diaguid on the right side.
At the start of the match, the French technician's selection paid off in the game as his players started this match with more bite, combativeness and technical precision than they finished the previous match. From then on, in a white-hot Alassane Otara stadium dedicated to the elephants' cause, Equatorial Guinea found it difficult to stay in the face of the Ivorians' physical power.
Lay hold-up to Njalang
Still, in Nzalang National's only penetration of the entire first period, Emilio Nsue, who had already scored a hat-trick in the previous match against Guinea-Bissau, managed to put the ball into the back of Yahya Fofana's net. A cross from the right (42nd). Thunder in Ebimbe, while the Ivorians seemed to dominate their case.
Against Nigeria the attackers were clearly inspired and with Oumar Diakité irreconcilable on his right, the Ivorians reacted quickly. In the 45th minute of the match, Sangare's goal was disallowed by the referee for an offside position and they even thought they would equalize.
It's hard to imagine a worse scenario for the Elephants, whose game had already gradually disintegrated after the Nigerians opened the scoring. This time, Sego Fofana and his teammates continued to press the Equatoguinean goal, unable to find fault and staying in the match. In 66e A minute into the game, substitute Jean-Philippe Grasso thought he had equalized with a curling left-foot shot, but for the second time the referee disallowed the goal for an off position.
The evening turns into a nightmare
But after six minutes, the match turned into a nightmare for Cassette's men. With Ivory Coast still hoping to make a comeback, Pablo Canet sent chills through the entire stadium by sending a sumptuous free kick straight into the top corner with his right foot. Two minutes later, a completely stunned Elephants lost the ball after the kick-off, leaving the Equatogunians alone on goal, allowing Emilio Nzuay to add to the score and score his fifth goal of the match. Janik Byala Sam would add to the scoring with a fourth goal against an Ivorian defence.
With this prestigious victory, the national Nzalang finished first in Group A, while the future looked bleak for the Ivorians. With three points, there is still a slim chance of qualifying as one of the top third places. But even so, do elephants have the resources to recover from such a chamber?
Nigeria won against Guinea-Bissau
In another Group A match at the Félix Houphoüet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Nigeria managed to get the better of Guinea-Bissau (1-0). The Super Eagles scored in the 36th minute of the game through an own goal by Bissau-Gini Oba Sangante under pressure from Victor Osimhen.
Again, the Nigerians won by a very narrow margin, but they did the job to earn their qualification. With seven points, like Equatorial Guinea, but with a lower goal difference, they finished second in this Group A and will reach the round of 16.
Read moreCAN 2024: Guinea-Bissau-Nigeria rematch