By: Nana Kwame Bediako
The Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire on Monday, January 29th, took football fans in Ivory Coast to Could 9 as they humbled the defending champions Senegal with a 4–5 victory on penalty shootout as the game initially ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal were poised for action against the host nation as they immediately took the lead in the 4th minute of proceedings with a stunning and well executed goal from Habibou Diallo, leaving Yahia Fofana no chance but to allow the ball to pass him the goalpost.
The match got intense with the host nation pushing for an equaliser as the second half came with a different overlook as compared to the first half. Côte d’Ivoire’s constant pressure moving forward eventually saw them rewarded with a penalty.
After coming on in the 73rd minute, Franck Kessie stepped up to slot home the penalty in the 86th minute, squaring the game at 1-1. Franck Kassie earlier forced Edouard Mendy into a fine double save when he came off the bench.
The game went into extra time as both teams were looking to settle matters on goals in order to qualify for the quarterfinals. Sadio Mane came up big in the extra time, but his effort was equally denied by Yahia Fofana.
The game finally had to be decided on a penalty shootout, but Niakhate’s unfortunate miss hitting the left post paved the way for Franck Kessie to slot home the winning goal, which booked the Elephants place in the quarterfinals.
