“We have come back from the dead many times in this competition. It’s a sign that we are going somewhere? I really don’t know,” said Cote D’Ivoire assistant coach Guy Demel.
The Elephants pulled off a late shock 2-1 win over Mali in the quarterfinals on Saturday to book their place in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
‘We are not good enough but we are progressing,’ has become the street hymn for Ivorian fans in response to many critics who claim the host team have been the luckiest so far in the history of the competition.
Cote D’Ivoire struggled during much of the first half against a resolute Mali side, with things turning for the worse when Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Odilon Kossounou was shown a second yellow card for a rough tackle in the 43rd minute.
With one man less, their chances of prevailing over the Eagles appeared greatly diminished but that was not all. The Elephants conceded in the 71st minute through a distant strike from Ivorian-born Dorgeles Nene, squashing any more hopes of a possible qualification.
“I was told the entire nation was quiet, sad and angry. Nobody liked how we were playing. Even the technical staff was complaining,” Demel told ACLsports.com.
“However, my boss Emerst Fae and I kept thinking. It was beyond an AFCON victory. It was for the survival of an entire nation. What would happen if we lose? It was unimaginable”
With a few minutes to probably bid bye to the tournament, Simon Adingra was thrown into the fray, with Mali still holding on to their 1-0 lead.
The Brighton & Hove Albion winger found a breach in a dense scramble in Mali area and unleashed his effort to snatch the breathless equaliser, sparking raptures across the host nation. It was a moment of pure brilliance from the 22-year-old.
“As a taxi driver in Abidjan, I was working during the game but listening to commentary on radio. The equaliser from Simon Adingra was greeted by something I can’t even described. A lady with a baby strapped to her back dashed across my vehicle without looking sideways. I almost crushed her and before I knew it the entire expressway was filled with jubilant crowds – men, women, kids. Traffic was halted.”
The clash went into extra-time, and after the first 15 minutes, it was visibly heading for a penalty shootout like was the case of Cote D’Ivoire vs Senegal.
“We were already concluding our list of shooters,” Demel said. “But the concern was that can we succeed again like against Senegal? It was never easy to play two successive penalty shootouts, but we had no choice.”
Fans who had abandoned their TV sets in frustration ran back to initial positions to see out the game following the 1-1 draw. However, the tension was still palpable.
“Another penalty shootout? Would the gods of soccer be on our side this time? I was not sure. However, our goalkeeper Yahia Fofana’s penalty save during the game brought some assurance, but in this exercise you never know,” said Jean Kouakou, an Abidjan-based banker.
“In football, when you get to this stage you no longer have your destiny in your hands. You have to be prepared for two results – a win or a loss. That was the general mood in Abidjan during the extra-time.”
When the fourth referee showed one minute as added time, it was visibly certain that the outcome would be decided by an eventual shootout. However, Cote D’Ivoire had the last laugh.
Oumar Diakite of French club Reims deflected a goal-ward ball from Seko Fofana on the edge of Mali’s box into net to hand the Elephants the winner.
“We will miss him in our next game because he took off his shirt and was shown a second yellow card. He couldn’t contain his joy. In fact nobody in the country. I mean no Ivorian was able to contain their joy. It was immerse. It brings to mind the 2015 penalty exploit against Ghana in Equatorial Guinea,” Demel said.
Cote D’Ivoire will meet DR Congo in the semi-finals on Wednesday, with Demel eyeing more momentum.
“It’s crazy out there. The support, the faith in us. It will keep growing. We’ve been very unpredictable as a team and that could be some kind of strength too.”
