Cote D’Ivoire vs Nigeria
2024 hosts Cote D’Ivoire have made the African Cup of Nations final where they will meet long term favourites Nigeria at the Stade Olympique on Sunday.
It’s been a superb tournament, packed with drama and spectacular action, none less than in Nigeria’s semi-final win over South Africa. And the Core D’Ivoire have had a topsy-turvy competition, a terrible start but they have gathered momentum and now have a great chance to win the trophy, in front of their own fans, after they beat DR Congo 1-0 on Wednesday.
Nigeria have been the nation to beat from the start of the knockout phase but the AFCON 2024 betting odds reckon we have a game on a knife-edge here; so let’s see how the two finalists got to the final shootout, and look at the men who may well write the AFCON 2024 news headlines on Sunday night.
Talking Points
Route to the final
The hosts had an underwhelming group campaign, though they did start with a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau. But it was all downhill from there as Cote D’Ivoire lost 1-0 to Nigeria and then, following a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of Equatorial Guinea, they sacked their manager Jean-Louis Gasset to be replaced by Emerse Fae for the rest of the campaign.
And the Elephants’ tournament took off in the Round of 16 as they beat holders Senegal. A late Franck Kessie penalty levelled after Senegal had led for most of the game and the hosts kept their nerve in the penalty shootout to reach the last eight. In the quarter finals the Elephants launched a stunning fight-back to beat an impressive Mali 2-1, a 122nd minute strike from Oumar Diakit sending the 40,000 fans wild.
The Ivory Coast versus DR Congo clash was a tough one to call, but the hosts edged it thanks to a Sebastien Haller strike which fired the Elephants to the final.
The Super Eagles had a largely uneventful passage to the semi-final, winning two and drawing one at the group stage before dispatching Cameroon 2-0 and Angola 1-0 to reach the last four. It looked like they had booked a place in the final in some comfort, but when Victor Osimhen scored in the last minute to make it 2-0 against South Africa his celebrations were cut short. The referee consulted VAR and promptly gave a penalty at the other end, chalking off Nigeria’s second and giving Teboho Mokoena the chance to level from the spot, which he gleefully accepted. But it was a penalty shootout which saw the Super Eagles through to the final, Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the winning spot kick.
Haller versus Osimhen
The final brings together two of the best strikers in African football, and indeed in European competitions. Borussia Dortmund forward Sebastien Haller has recovered from cancer to re-establish himself as a fine goal scorer for club and country. A France U21 player he pledged his future to the Elephants in 2020 and has since scored nine goals, including the semi-final winner. The 29 year old is strong in the air at 6ft 3in and is a world class target man, able to link up play, and he scores his fair share of goals too.
Osimhen, at 6ft 1in and 25 years of age, is one of the most sought after strikers in world football after he fired Napoli to a first Scudetto in over 30 years last season. He’s scored 57 goals in 96 games for I Partenopei and 21 in 34 appearances for the Super Eagles. Osimhen was passed fit to play in the semi-final, after abdominal pain had stopped him travelling with his nation in the early stages, but he looked fit and well against South Africa and his pace will worry the Cote D’Ivoire defence.
History
Ivory Coast are looking for a third AFCON triumph having won the tournament in 1992 and 2015, while the Super Eagles have already collected a hat-trick of wins, in 1980, 1994 and 2013.
In terms of head-to-head it’s all level after Nigeria beat the Elephants 1-0 at the group stage, as William Troost-Ekong scored a 55th minute winner. Now they have won nine each and there have been ten draws.
Betting Tip
Nigeria are SBOTOP favourites to win the title at a price of 1.75 to win the tournament and, of course, it can go either way. Home advantage and a shift in momentum has moved towards the Elephants and I think they might just edge it…but it will be close.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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