Ivory Coast stun AFCON holders Senegal
Hosts Ivory Coast stunned Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, knocking out the reigning champions on penalties in the last 16 to keep their hopes of winning the title on home soil alive.
A week ago it looked as if the Ivorians were set for a humiliating group-stage exit from their own AFCON, but now they are into the quarter-finals after beating Senegal 5-4 on penalties following a tie that finished 1-1 at the end of extra time.
The Elephants scraped into the knockout phase with the worst record of the four best third-placed sides to advance, after finishing the first round with a humiliating 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, their heaviest ever home defeat.
They followed that by sacking veteran French coach Jean-Louis Gasset and trying unsuccessfully to bring in former boss Herve Renard on a short-term deal.
But instead former player Emerse Fae was appointed on an interim basis, hoping to rouse a shell-shocked team for a daunting tie against the holders.
It looked like being a trying evening for Ivory Coast in Yamoussoukro as Senegal went ahead in the fourth minute when Habib Diallo brought down Sadio Mane's cross from the left and finished emphatically.
Mane then escaped with a yellow card for a dangerous challenge on Ibrahim Sangare soon after, although Senegal also felt hard done by early in the second half.
Ismaila Sarr went down in the box in a tangle of legs with Odilon Kossounou, but no penalty was given and the referee did not come across to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Instead, it was the Ivorians who won a late penalty of their own, a VAR review showing that Nicolas Pepe was chopped down by Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Franck Kessie of Saudi club Al Ahli, who was dropped to the bench at kick-off, converted the penalty to force extra time.
With no further scoring, it came down to penalties, and Senegal's Moussa Niakhate was the only player to miss, seeing his effort strike the post.
Kessie then netted the decisive kick to take Ivory Coast through to a last-eight tie against Mali or Burkina Faso in the central city of Bouake on Saturday.
Neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso clash in the last 16 in the northern city of Korhogo on Tuesday.
"We are feeling a lot of emotion," Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller told broadcaster Canal Plus Afrique.
"The last few days have not been easy but we had to believe in ourselves."
Senegal go out after being the only team to win all three games during the group stage, and their elimination means no reigning champion has made it beyond the first knockout round of a Cup of Nations since Egypt won a third consecutive title in 2010.
Earlier on Monday, Cape Verde won an AFCON knockout tie for the first time in their history as a late Ryan Mendes penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Mauritania in Abidjan.
The tie was drifting towards extra time when Cape Verde won a spot-kick as substitute Gilson Tavares Benchimol was brought down in the box by Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Niasse.
Captain Mendes then converted with just two minutes of the 90 remaining to break the resistance of a Mauritania side appearing in the knockout phase for the first time.
Cape Verde advance to a quarter-final on Saturday in Yamoussoukro against either Morocco or South Africa, who meet in the last 16 on Tuesday in San-Pedro.
The tiny Atlantic Ocean island nation had got out of their group in two of their three previous appearances at the AFCON, but had never before won a knockout tie.
"We are proud of everything we have done up to now. We always tried to win the game and we thoroughly deserved the victory," said Cape Verde coach Pedro 'Bubista' Brito, who believes his side can go further still in the tournament.
"We have our objective, which from day one has been to get to the semi-finals.
"We are one step away from that now and we are going to keep going, while obviously staying humble and respecting our opponents, but we believe. That is our focus and we are going to try and get there."
(责任编辑:关于我们)
-
I got a chance to play around with the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and man, it looks like we have to completely ...[详细]
-
公元1607年的春天,徐霞客挥别莺飞草长的家乡江阴,开始了长达30多年的科考之旅。他到过今天19个省份的100多座城市,探过500多个岩洞,游记中提及的桥有1000多处。现存《徐霞客游记》的第一篇是5 ...[详细]
-
今日,记者从交通银行相关负责人获悉,针对粤港澳大湾区“跨境理财通”业务,该行各项工作稳步推进,蓄势待发。“跨境理财通”业务指粤港澳大湾区内地和港澳投资者 ...[详细]
-
19日,记者在市北区纺织谷园区看到,新摄汇TOP商拍基地已初现雏形,现场工人正紧锣密鼓地进行墙体外立面装修设计。据了解,新摄汇TOP商拍基地是纺织谷联手新摄汇打造的中国北方最大的电商拍摄基地,按照目前 ...[详细]
-
Malan retires from international cricket
LONDON:Dawid Malan retired from international cricket on Wednesday, with the batsman saying his Engl ...[详细] -
篆刻老人荣学成荣学成篆刻印章这方5公分见方的印章,从起稿到完成用了20小时的时间,荣学成老人一气呵成,手捧这方印章,老人感慨颇多。走进荣学成老人的家里,仿佛置身于一个印章王国,大的小的,圆的方的,石头 ...[详细]
-
本报讯近日,记者从石棉县安顺场八一希望小学获悉,该校把劳动教育作为培养学生实践能力和创新精神,全面提高学生核心素养的一项重要内容,将劳动情感教育与劳动实践教育相结合、家庭个体劳动和学校集体劳动相结合、 ...[详细]
-
中国山东网青岛7月30日讯(记者 姜婷) 世界首支摩天轮交响乐,新颖的沙滩交响音乐会,油画小镇弥散着古典音乐,藏马山上的打击乐器和趣味音色……2017“青岛西海 ...[详细]
-
Scout Brobst ,July 30, 2024 Venture Missio ...[详细]
-
中国山东网青岛7月30日讯(记者 姜婷) 世界首支摩天轮交响乐,新颖的沙滩交响音乐会,油画小镇弥散着古典音乐,藏马山上的打击乐器和趣味音色……2017“青岛西海 ...[详细]