When Ivory Coast suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan during their final Group A match on Monday, January 22, 2024, it became almost certain that the hosts had crashed out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the group stage.

The hosts played three games in Group A, managing to win only one. They began with a 2-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau in the opener on January 13, 2024, but then faced a 1-0 loss to Nigeria five days later, followed by a disastrous performance against Equatorial Guinea.

After Group A matches, the hosts found themselves in third place with three points and a -3 goal difference, trailing behind Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, both of whom had seven points. Guinea-Bissau occupied the last position in the group with zero points.

It was apparent that Ivory Coast had been eliminated, except for a glimmer of hope for qualification as one of the best-ranking third-place teams in the groups. Consequently, Head Coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked.

“A nation like Ivory Coast cannot organize such a competition and, of course, get eliminated so early on. But in this manner, there is a real problem. We will have to get back to work, not only asking the right questions but also making the right decisions. For football and only football,” Ivory Coast legend Didier Drogba expressed on Ivorian broadcaster NCI.

However, Ivory Coast’s fortunes took a turn when Morocco secured a 1-0 win over Zambia in Group F on Wednesday, January 24. This result allowed the Ivorians to qualify for the knockout phase as the last of the four best third-placed finishers.

Fate had them paired against defending champions Senegal, who had won all their group-stage matches. Gasset’s assistant Emerse Fae was appointed as caretaker manager after efforts to have Hervé Renard as stand-in manager were unsuccessful.

At 11 PM East African Time on Monday, January 29, 2024, referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho of Gabon initiated the match at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium, with Senegal and Ivory Coast competing for a quarter-final slot. According to the group stage rankings, this was a clash between the first and last teams.

Just four minutes into the intense match, Ivory Coast found themselves trailing after Habib Diallo received Sadio Mane’s cross from the left flank, controlled it perfectly, and blasted it into the roof of the net. The stadium fell silent, and the home support was stunned.

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Nevertheless, the Elephants did not give up. They maintained possession and attempted to breach Senegal’s goal, albeit with no success. Second-half changes proved crucial for the Ivorians.

In the 83rd minute, former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, guarding Senegal’s goal, brought down former Arsenal man Nicolas Pep, leading to former Barcelona and AC Milan striker Franck Kessie stepping up to level the scores from the spot.

The match concluded in a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time, forcing referee Atcho to call for penalty kicks. Moussa Niakhaté missed a crucial spot kick for Senegal, while Kessie converted the winning one, sending the hosts through to the quarter-final stage as Senegal crashed out, much to the surprise of the football world.

The writer is a Digital Sports Editor with seven years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital media.