Nigeria v Ivory Coast: bitter rivals competing for continental glory

The Africa Cup of Nations final, which will take place on February 11 at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe, will see tournament favourites Nigeria facing off against hosts Ivory Coast.

This highly anticipated match between two bitter rivals promises to be a titanic clash, with both teams vying for continental glory in the CAF AFCON 2023 final.

During the group stage of AFCON, Nigeria defeated the hosts with a narrow margin of 1-0. However, in the final, Cote d’Ivoire will be hoping to seek redemption.

Winning a third AFCON on home soil would be a remarkable achievement, and Nigeria is aware of the fact that they are up against a tough challenge.

For Nigerian manager Jose Peseiro, outwitting his counterpart Emerse Fae will be crucial. Peseiro’s tactical prowess led Nigeria to victory against South Africa in the first semi-final, while Fae’s team overcame DR Congo 1-0.

Recap Nigeria vs Ivory Coast: Tournament So Far

Nigeria has been performing exceptionally well in the competition – having qualified for the knockout stages as runners-up in Group A. They managed to draw 1-1 with group winners Equatorial Guinea and then secured wins against Guinea-Bissau (1-0) and fellow finalists Ivory Coast (1-0).

The Super Eagles continued their winning streak by knocking out Cameroon in the round of 16, Angola in the quarters and South Africa in the semi-finals. This has led them to their eighth AFCON final in history. Nigeria has won the cup before in 1980, 1994 and 2013, and they are looking to win their fourth championship this time around.

In contrast, Ivory Coast’s journey to the final could be seen as lucky. They won 2-0 against Guinea-Bissau in their opener but then fell 1-0 to Nigeria and were thrashed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea. As a result, they were placed third in the group and qualified as the worst third-placed team.

However, the Elephants were able to turn their fortunes around by defeating defending champions Senegal in the round of 16 with a 5-4 penalty shootout. They then went on to win against Mali (2-1 a.e.t.) in the quarters and DR Congo (1-0) in the semi-finals to reach their fifth AFCON final in history.

The Ivorian fans can’t wait to win the championship on home soil in what promises to be an exciting encounter.