Côte d’Ivoire was stunned at home by Equatorial Guinea 4-0, and was dismissed from the African Cup of Nations, All Group A matches took place on January 22, 2024, at all stadiums in Abidjan, including Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara d’Ebimpé and Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
Côte d’Ivoire’s game started on a high note as the team desperately wanted three points, avoided the group stages and played in front of their fans, A furious Les Éléphants attempted the goal four times in 15 minutes, which required Equatorial Guinea to avoid mistakes that would have cost them points and missed the ⅛ ticket.
On the 29th minute, Côte d’Ivoire conceded a goal when Kouame Christian wanted to score a goal but left the ball to Nicolas Pepe who tried to penetrate the goalkeeper of Equatorial Guinea, Jesus Owono but ended up taking it away from him, While the fans of Côte d’Ivoire had already taken a stand, they were silenced by Emilio Nsue who scored a goal in the 42nd minute from a ball sent by Carlos Akapo,
In the five minutes of added time, it took just the second for Ibrahim Sangare to equalise, but referee Mahmood Ismail said he had been awarded the ball, which was the end of the first half, Christian Kouame scored again in the 58th minute with a powerful shot that goalkeeper Jesus Owono took away and returned to the field again showing his skill, In this minute, Equatorial Guinea went back to the goal as they were attacked by Oumar Diakite of Côte d’Ivoire who was playing on the right.
Côte d’Ivoire coach, Jean Louis Gasset, withdrew all three players, Nicolas Pepe, Ghislain Konan and Karim Konate, and added new blood to the squad, including Christian Kouame, Jeremie Boga and Jean-Philippe Krasso, After these changes, Jean-Philippe Krasso scored a goal in the 67th minute after a ball sent by Seko Fofana, but the referee checked the VAR and found that he was crying.
Equatorial Guinea, who were in a frenzy, had a chance when Pablo Ganet’s Coup-frank flicked the ball past goalkeeper Fofana in the 73rd minute, After another three minutes, Côte d’Ivoire went all the way to pay but Machin Jose elbowed the ball and found his teammate Emilio Nsue who sent the ball to him for the third time.
The fourth goal in this game was scored at the end of the game in the 88th minute by Jannick Buyla, The match between Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau started with both sides looking like they were not interested in winning as they played for 10 minutes in the middle of the field. In the 14th minute Frank Onyeka tried to pass the ball at a high speed but the defender Opa Sangate took it away and put it in the corner.
Nigeria could have had a penalty in the 29th minute when a player from Guinea-Bissau handled the ball in the penalty area but Moroccan referee Bouchra Karboubi said nothing happened, The Super Eagles got the first goal of the game when Opa Sangante tried to save the ball from Simon Moses but the defender saved it.
By the end of the first half, Nigeria had already reached the ⅛ without any problems because they were leading the game, The coach of Guinea-Bissau, Baciro Cande started the second time making changes, putting Sanca Marciano and Franculino on the field, removing Mendes Carlos Gomes and Gano Zinho.
It didn’t matter as the game ended with Nigeria getting three points and securing ⅛ of the tournament, Equatorial Guinea continues to lead Group A with seven points and has saved six goals, having scored the most in the tournament so far. Nigeria finished second in the group while Guinea-Bissau went home without a single score.
