Ivory Coast Wins AFCON and sends "Thank You" Card to Morocco.....
Abidjan -- Ivory Coast won their third AFCON by beating Nigeria 2-1 in front of a capacity crowd. It was a deserved win as they dominated Nigeria completely in a way that they never mustered in any of their previous encounters at this AFCON. In the end, the Ivoreins should be sending a "Thank You" card to Morocco who had revived their AFCON campaign. Ivory Coast was left for dead and out of this competition at the group stage until Morocco offered them a lifeline to the knockout stage with a 1-0 win over Zambia. The Ivoreins took the lifeline with grace and in the end, their assistant Manager who replaced a fired Manager Jean-Luis Gasset led them to an unlikely campaign. It was a campaign riddled with late escapes and eventually a totally dominant final against Nigeria.
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Ivory Coast won their third AFCON by beating Nigeria 2-1 in front of a capacity crowd. . . . In the end, the Ivoreins should be sending a "Thank You" card to Morocco who had revived their AFCON campaign.
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On the other side, one sensed that Nigeria and its fans were already celebrating an AFCON win before the game began. Nigerian fans were already claiming that the current Nigerian squad may be its best in current memory. For the fans, an Ivory Coast victory could not be comprehended. Yet, you still have to play the game. Nigeria came out lethargic and remained so until late when the Ivoreins mercifully took their feet off the pedal. Mysteriously, Nigerian players failed to raise their effort and energy for a championship game while Ivory Coast was exactly the opposite. The Ivoreins chased each ball as if their lives depended on it and subsequently they earned multiple calls against the lethargic Nigerians who were frequently a step slow to the ball.
The fact that the game ended with a 2-1 margin did not reflect the true dominance of the Ivoreins, urged on by as capacity home crowd. They were chasing a third AFCON title, which has now tied three also won by Nigeria.
Manager Peseiro, sensing the lethargy of his lads, sought to get them going by verbally challenging early officiating calls which forced refereee Dahane Beida of Mauritania to issue a caution after just 27 minutes. Yet, Nigeria could still not wake up from its deep slumber. Twice, Nigeria's goalkeeper Nwabali was called on to make critical saves to Keep Nigeria fortunately in the game.
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Nigeria came out lethargic and remained so until late when the Ivoreins mercifully took their feet off the pedal. Mysteriously, Nigerian players failed to raise their effort and energy for a championship game while Ivory Coast was exactly the opposite.
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The shocker was that completely against the run of play Nigeria would go ahead after 37 minutes. A rare corner kick was hoisted into the area by Lookman but a poor header by an Ivorein defender allowed Ekong to take advantage and put Nigeria ahead.
The expectation was that Nigeria will begin the second half, following a pep talk, energized. It did not happen. Instead, the Ivorein domination persisted. Peseiro took out anonymous Chukwueze with the hope that substitute Simon would bring in the much needed energy. It was not enough.
The Ivoreins earned an equalizer two minutes after the hour from a corner kick after Nwabali had turned away a long range violent shot. Dissatisfied, the Ivoreins kept on coming. In desperation, Peseiro sent Lookman and Iwobi to the bench. Yet, no answers. Instead, it was the Ivoreins that went ahead. This time, Aina was left dead on the right and the subsequent cross was put beyond Nwabali by Heller.
With the deed done, what was left was a wait for the final whistle and handing over the trophy to the Ivoreins with a "Thank You" letter quickly dispatched to Casablanca. That Nigeria took control late was only because the Ivoreins became interested in defending their lead. Nothing more.
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With the deed done, what was left was a wait for the final whistle and handing over the trophy to the Ivoreins with a "Thank You" letter quickly dispatched to Casablanca. That Nigeria took control late was only because the Ivoreins became interested in defending their lead. Nothing more.
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Ratings
Stanley Nwabali -6.3 -- He made several saves to keep the margin respectable as Nigeria was thoroughly dominated.
Ola Aina - 6.0 -- Aina had a poor outing after a magnificent tournament earlier on. He was always a step slower than his opponent throughout and he gave up multiple crosses.
Semi Ajayi -- 6.3 -- Semi came to the rescue of Aina a few times today.
William Troost-Ekong- 6.7 -- He player a skipper's game defending as best as he could and helping out in attack. He ended up scoring Nigeria's only goal.
Calvin Bassey -- 6.4 -- Calvin also had a strong performance. He was beaten for pace early and escaped being booked after tugging on the shirt of his conqueror.
Zaidu Sanusi - 6.0 -- Zaidu had a poor game and nearly gifted the Ivoreins an early score with a poor header intended for Nwabali but was fortunate that the ball skidded into corner with an onrushing attacker looking to pounce.
Frank Onyeka -- 6.1 -- He gave up early fouls as always and seemed to lack his usual energy. He was eventually replaced by Aribo as Nigeria chased a result.
Alex Iwobi -- 6.1 -- He did not do much to lift his mates and appeared slow to win balls against the quick moving Ivoreins.
Samuel Chukwueze -- 5.8 -- The less written, the better. Completely anonymous and was duly replaced,
Victor Osimhen - 6.2 -- His effort level was there and the grit was there. However, there was no service and he was often left on an island to fend for himself.
Simon Moses - 6.0 -- He contributed very littler when he came on.
Kelechi Iheanacho -- 6.5 -- In the 15 minutes that he was on, he seemed fired up far more than his team mates.
Alhassan Yusuf -- 6.1 -- He seemed to bring more energy as he came on but it was too little, too late.
Terem Moff -- X
Joseph Aribo -- X
Stanley Nwabali + -- Ola Aina +, Semi Ajayi, William Ekong (cpt), Calvin Bassey, Zaidu Sanusi (84th Joseph Aribo) -- Samuel Chukwueze (55th Simon Moses), Frank Onyeka (84th Terem Moffi), Alex Iwobi (76th Alhassan Yusuf), Ademola Lookman (76th Kelechi Iheanacho) -- Victor Osimhen.
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