AFCON: Defending champions, Senegal crash out as host, Ivory Coast proceeds to next round following penalty shootout thriller

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The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) defending champions, Senegal will no longer play a part in the ongoing competition following their loss against the tournament host, Ivory Coast on penalties.

So far, the 2023 AFCON tournament has been impressive and has kept viewers across the globe at the edge of their seats. The round of 16 clash between Ivory Coast and Senegal lived up to the expectation.

Senegal has been one of the tournament’s favourite, however, their run comes to an abrupt end after losing 5-4 on penalties against the Elephants of Ivory Coast during the early hours of today, Tuesday, January 30.

Coming into the round of 16 contest on Monday night, Senegal won their group with a perfect record, meanwhile, Ivory Coast (otherwise known as Cote D’Ivoire) finished as one of the best losers following consecutive losses to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea in Group A.

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The clash commenced on a awful note for the host once again as they fell behind in the 4th minute following a delectable goal from Senegal’s forward, Habib Diallo.

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Senegal were in absolute control of the clash until the latter part of the second half where the Ivorians realized they had everything to fight for in front of their home fans. Ivory Coast’s coach, Emerse Fae made a couple of integral changes that transformed the complexion of the game positively for the Ivorians.

In the 86th minute, Frankie Kessie, a former AC Milan and Barcelona player brought the host back into the game from the penalty spot after another Ivorian subtitute, Nicolas Pepe was brought down by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy in the box.

The match remained a draw through extra time, hence, it had to be decided on penalties.

During the shootout, it was Nottingham Forest’s Moussa Niakhaté‘s penalty miss that defined how the defending champions will crash of the AFCON tournament that hasn’t been short of drama.