The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations took place in Ivory Coast and there was an incredible roller coaster ride for the hosts as they went from near total embarrassment to champions of the continent.
Les Elephants rebounded from firing their coach and nearly flunking out at the group stage to beat Senegal, Mali, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to reach the final for a super rematch with Nigeria.
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The Super Eagles were very stingy, drawing Equatorial Guinea 1-1 before beating Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau by twin 1-0 scores. Then came a 2-0 win over Cameroon and a 1-0 defeat of Angola before Wednesday required penalties to get past South Africa.
[ MORE: Which Premier League players are at AFCON? ]
This tournament started with big shocks and the drama has just kept on coming...
Africa Cup of Nations Final recap — Ivory Coast, Haller complete comeback
It took a William Troost-Ekong penalty to separate the sides in the group stage, as Ivory Coast had 64% of the ball and out-attempted Nigeria 14-11 but lost the game 1-0 and the xG battle 1.72-0.57.
The final started in similar fashion, as Nigeria captain Troost-Ekong put the Super Eagles in front at halftime. The similarities ended there, however, as Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller continued their incredible knockout rounds to produce a 2-1 win at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjian.
Cancer-defying Sebastien Haller scored the winner in the semifinal and the final, as Ivory Coast claimed a third AFCON crown.
Below is everything that happened at the Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations knockout round results
Round of 16
Jan. 27, 12pm: Angola 3-0 Namibia - Bouake
Jan. 27, 3pm: Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon - Abidjan
Jan. 28, 12pm: Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Guinea - Abidjan
Jan. 28, 3pm: Egypt 1-1 (7-8 PKs) DR Congo - San Pedro
Jan. 29, 12pm: Cape Verde 1-0 Mauritania - Abidjan
Jan. 29, 3pm: Senegal 1-1 (4-5 PKs) Ivory Coast - Yamoussoukro
Jan. 30, 12pm: Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso - Korhogo
Jan. 30, 3pm: Morocco 0-2 South Africa - San Pedro
Quarterfinal
Feb. 2, 3pm: DR Congo 3-1 Guinea - Abidjan
Feb. 2, 12pm: Nigeria 1-0 Angola - Abidjan
Feb. 3, 12pm: Mali 1-2 (AET) Ivory Coast - Bouake
Feb. 3, 3pm: Cape Verde 0-0 (1-2 PKs) South Africa - Yamoussoukro
Semifinal
Feb. 7, 12pm: Nigeria 1-1 (4-2 PKs) South Africa - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Feb. 7, 3pm: Ivory Coast 1-0 DR Congo - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Third place play-off
Feb. 10, 3pm: South Africa 0-0 (6-5 PKs) DR Congo - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Final
Feb. 11, 3pm: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Africa Cup of Nations final group stage standings
Group A
- Equatorial Guinea — 2-1-0 — +6 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16 AS GROUP WINNERS
- Nigeria — 2-1-0 — +2 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Ivory Coast — 1-0-2 — -3 GD — 3 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Guinea-Bissau — 0-0-3 — -5 GD — 0 points — ELIMINATED
Group B
- Cape Verde— 2-0-0 — +4 GD — 6 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16 AS GROUP WINNERS
- Egypt — 0-3-0 — 0 GD — 3 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Ghana — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
- Mozambique — 0-2-1 — -4 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
Group C
- Senegal — 3-0-0 — +7 GD — 9 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Cameroon — 1-1-1 — -1 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Guinea — 1-1-1 — -1 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Gambia — 0-0-3 — -5 GD — 0 points — ELIMINATED
Group D
- Angola — 2-1-0 — +3 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Burkina Faso — 1-1-1 — -1 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Mauritania — 1-0-2 — -1 GD — 3 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Algeria — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
Group E
- Mali — 1-2-0 — +2 GD — 5 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- South Africa — 1-1-1 — +2 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Namibia — 1-1-1 — -3 GD — 4 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Tunisia — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
Group F
- Morocco — 2-1-0 — +4 GD — 7 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Dem Rep of Congo — 0-3-0 — 0 GD — 3 points — ADVANCED TO LAST 16
- Zambia — 0-2-1 — -1 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
- Tanzania — 0-2-1 — -3 GD — 2 points — ELIMINATED
Africa Cup of Nations group stage schedule & results
All kickoffs ET
Group A
Jan. 13, 3pm: Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 14, 9am: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 18, 9am: Equatorial Guinea 4-2 Guinea-Bissau - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 18, 12pm: Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 22, 12pm: Equatorial Guinea 4-0 Ivory Coast - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 22, 12pm: Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group B
Jan. 14, 12pm: Egypt 2-2 Mozambique - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 14, 3pm: Ghana 1-2 Cape Verde - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 18, 3pm: Egypt 2-2 Ghana - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 19, 9am: Cape Verde 3-0 Mozambique - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 22, 3pm: Mozambique 2-2 Ghana - Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan
Jan. 22, 3pm: Cape Verde 2-2 Egypt - Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, Abidjan
Group C
Jan. 15, 9am: Senegal 3-0 Gambia - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 15, 12pm: Cameroon 1-1 Guinea - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 19, 12pm: Senegal 3-1 Cameroon - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 19, 3pm: Guinea 1-0 Gambia - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 23, 12pm: Guinea 0-2 Senegal - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 23, 12pm: Gambia 2-3 Cameroon - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Group D
Jan. 15, 3pm: Algeria 1-1 Angola - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Jan. 16, 9am: Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Jan. 20, 9am: Algeria 2-2 Burkina Faso - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Jan. 20, 12pm: Mauritania 2-3 Angola - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Jan. 23, 3pm: Angola 2-0 Burkina Faso - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro
Jan. 23, 3pm: Mauritania 1-0 Algeria - Stade de la Paix, Bouake
Group E
Jan. 16, 12pm: Tunisia 0-1 Namibia - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 16, 3pm: Mali 2-0 South Africa - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 20, 3pm: Tunisia 1-1 Mali - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 21, 3pm: South Africa vs Namibia - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 24, 12pm: South Africa 0-0 Tunisia - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 24, 12pm: Namibia 0-0 Mali - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Group F
Jan. 17, 12pm: Morocco 3-0 Tanzania - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Jan. 17, 3pm: DR Congo 1-1 Zambia - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Jan. 21, 9am: Morocco 1-1 DR Congo - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Jan. 21, 12pm: Zambia 1-1 Tanzania - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
Jan. 24, 3pm: Tanzania 0-0 DR Congo - Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium, Korhogo
Jan. 24, 3pm: Zambia 0-1 Morocco - Laurent Pokou Stadium, San Pedro
