Home team Ivory Coast defeated Senegal, the current champions, in the round of 16 at the Charles Konan Banny de Yamoussoukro Stadium after a thrilling 120 minutes of play, winning on penalties.
Since Egypt won their third consecutive title in 2010, no defending champion has advanced beyond the first knockout round of an AFCON. This is due to Senegal's elimination. Ivory Coast's interim coach, Emerse Fae, addressed the team's struggles and early goal conceded during the match.
He emphasized the need to maintain consistency and not get confused during halftime. Fae addressed the players' performance after the match.
Fae expressed frustration that his new duties as head coach, suddenly appointed in the middle of a tournament, disrupted his usual practice of napping, adding to the many challenges he faced. He complained that the match day was excessively long and that he felt a lot of pressure leading up to it.
My mind was racing with all the possible outcomes, so I couldn't get a good night's sleep. It would be dishonest of me to claim otherwise. After Habib Diallo converted Sadio Mané's cross barely four minutes in, Senegal appeared poised to shatter records for the better part of an hour.
After a terrible showing in the group stage including a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Equatorial Guinea, the Elephants' worst home defeat to date Ivory Coast barely made it to the knockout stages as one of the best third-place teams.
The team's performance on Monday improved throughout the encounter, and they fully deserved the equalizer they scored four minutes before halftime, even though a video assistant referee had to intervene.
After Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy pulled down Pepe, a former Arsenal winger, in the area, the Ivorian players and spectators were furious that referee Pierre Atcho did not give a penalty.
Nevertheless, Atcho changed his mind and gave the penalty after being taken to the pitch-side monitor to examine the play. Franck Kessié confidently put the ball away.
With 20,000 people inside the stadium, the energy level was through the roof.
After an excruciatingly close 30 minutes of extra time, both teams failed to score, forcing a penalty shootout to decide the match.
The only player to miss in the shootout was Senegal's Moussa Niakhaté; as a result, Kessié became a hero twice over as he scored the winning penalty kick, advancing his team to the quarterfinals.
This team's remarkable progress to this point in the competition is quite astonishing, given their unstable state.
In a shocking turn of events, the Ivory Coast team was nearly eliminated from the tournament in their own stadium after losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea. At the same time, former coach Jean-Louis Gasset was surprisingly fired.
The only thing that prevented Morocco's early elimination was their 1-0 win over Zambia.
Nevertheless, Fae has orchestrated an improbable triumph over the current champion and a squad that breezed through the group stages with a perfect record of three wins.
We felt confident after qualifying following Morocco's victory. "We eliminated Senegal; morale is good," Fae stated after the victory.
"We must not stop here; we must continue working, maintain this morale, and keep playing match by match," the coach adamantly contended.
In the quarterfinals, Ivory Coast will face either Burkina Faso or Mali.
Source:CNN
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