Ivory Coast overthrows Mali in the quarter-finals after a crazy scenario

Outnumbered for 75 minutes and trailing on Saturday, the Elephants turned the situation around to reach the last four of the competition. They will challenge the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday.

An early red card, a sumptuous goal, a last-second equalizer and a victory acquired on the last action of the game… There was everything, or almost, during this quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations. nations (CAN) between Mali and Ivory Coast, Saturday February 3 at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, north of Yamoussoukro. At least, all the ingredients to make this meeting, not very fluid on a technical level, a model of commitment and surpassing oneself on the part of both teams.

And finally, it was the Ivorians who managed to overcome events to reach the last four of the competition.

Kossounou sees red

We didn’t have to wait ten minutes of play to see the referee of the match, Mohamed Adel, have to make an important decision. On a disputed hand from Odilon Kossounou, well taken off to counter a recovery from Amadou Haïdara, the official took the time to check the disputed situation with the VAR, before finally signaling an offside at the start of the ‘action.

Six minutes later, the same Kossounou was at fault again, causing a penalty for Mali by hooking Lassine Sinayoko. Sanctioned with a yellow card, the young (23 years old) defender of Bayer Leverkusen witnessed the feat of his goalkeeper, Yahia Fofana, who stopped Adama Traoré’s attempt. But the respite was only short-lived for the host country. Just before the break, Kossounou received a second yellow, synonymous with expulsion. Enough to seriously compromise the Ivorian chances for the rest of the game.

Dorgeles scores the CAN goal, Adingra saves the Elephants

Very discreet offensively before being reduced to 10, the Elephants were even more cautious in the second act. In midfield, Franck Kessié, Jean-Michaël Seri and Seko Fofana did a lot of work to try to recover a few balls. But Nene Dorgeles’ missile (1-0, 70th) suddenly threw the Ivorians into a rush. Having entered eight minutes earlier, the Salzburg player came to clean Fofana’s left corner with a powerful strike from 30 meters.

At that precise moment, the matter seemed almost settled. Until the 90th minute, at the end of normal time, when everything changed and the Peace Stadium burst into flames. Simon Adingra exploited a double blocked shot from Seko Fofana to emerge and equalize (1-1, 90th).

Diakité pushes Bouaké into drunkenness

Pushed into overtime, the actors threw their last strength into the battle. Sébastien Haller was not far from being the hero for Ivory Coast, but his header hit the crossbar (95th). The savior’s costume was not for him, but for Oumar Diakité. On the last action of extra time, while the names of the shooters for the penalty shootout began to be determined, the Elephants striker deflected Seko Fofana’s shot with a subtle backheel to extinguish the Malian dreams (2- 1, 120e+1). In his intense joy, he received a second yellow card for taking off his jersey…

Guided by Emerse Faé after the ouster of Jean-Louis Gasset following the heavy defeat (0-4) against Equatorial Guinea in group play, the host country is still alive. He has two matches left to delight an entire people and, nine years after his last victory, raise a new CAN.