Cote d’Ivoire Sends Sadio Mane’s Senegal Out Of 2023 AFCON

In a shocking turn of events on Monday, the defending champions, Senegal’s Teranga Lions were shown the way out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) by Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire), the host nation.

SportXparte reports that Cote d’Ivoire was almost out of the tournament last week following their poor performance in the Group Stage matches.
Luckily for the host, it scaled through to the Round of 16 as the best losers.
After the regulation and an additional 30 minutes of extra time resulted in a 1-1 deadlock, the Senegal Vs Ivory Coast match proceeded to shootouts at Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, the capital city of Ivory Coast.
Surprisingly, it was the Ivory Coast national team, known as the Elephants, who managed to secure a spot in the knockout phase as one of the four third-placed teams during the group-stage playoffs. They emerged victorious in the penalty shootout, winning 5-4.
The only missed penalty came from Senegal’s Mousa Niakhate, whose shot hit the upright, allowing Ivory Coast to progress at the expense of the Teranga Lions.
Senegal, the only team to win all their matches in the group stage, scored a total of eight goals while conceding only once.
In contrast, the two-time champions of the Africa Cup of Nations, Ivory Coast, were able to secure only one victory in Group A of the prestigious football competition.
The Ivorian Elephants suffered a setback in their AFCON 2023 campaign after a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau on the opening day.
They were defeated by Nigeria with a lone goal and faced a crushing 0-4 defeat against Equatorial Guinea. Despite these challenges, they managed to secure a spot in the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed teams, relying heavily on luck.
In the recent game, Senegal took an early lead through Habibou Diallo, just four minutes into the match.
The defending champions made numerous attempts to equalize, but the hosts thwarted their efforts. It was not until the final four minutes of regulation time that Franck Kessié, the twenty-seven-year-old midfielder, managed to level the score for the Ivorians.
Despite extra time, neither team could find the back of the net again, SportXparte reports.
Next, the Ivorians will face the winner of the Mali versus B’Faso clash in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Fans can catch all the action of the AFCON 2023 matches, including this clash, and the remaining games in Côte d’Ivoire, live and in HD on Sports Premium, Sports Life, and Beta Sports channels on StarTimes, as well as the StarTimes-ON mobile app.