The Elephants of Ivory Coast have booked their spot in the knock-out stages of the 2023 AFCON tournament following Zambia’s 1-0 loss to Morocco in San Pedro, www.aclsports.com reports.
The fate of the AFCON hosts had been in doubt after a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A match on Monday in Abidjan. However, results from the rest of the groups went their way including Wednesday’s clash between Zambia and Morocco much to the delight of the fans who took to the streets to celebrate the qualification.
Following Namibia’s qualification earlier in the day, Ivorian fans all over the country knew the match between the Zambians and their North African counterparts would decide their fate. The 2013 champions needed only to avoid defeat against the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists to reach the round of 16 of the tournament at the expense of Cote d’Ivoire but they failed, allowing the hosts to progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
However, former Chelsea winger and Morocco’s captain Hakim Ziyech scored the game’s only goal in the 37th minute of the game when he pounced on a rebound in the area to hand his side the lead. That goal was widely celebrated in the Stadium and every viewing location by the Ivorian fans who knew the result was in their favour.
The Zambians huffed and puffed for the remainder of the match but they could not find the back of Yassine Bounou’s net; when the final whistle was blown by referee Patrice Mebiame, and the streets of Abidjan were filled with fans celebrating the win, while others joined the celebrations by honking their car horns and racing down the streets.
Consequently, the Elephants, whose coach resigned earlier in the day, will now face defending champions Senegal on Monday at Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro.
Round of 16 matches
Angola v Namibia
Nigeria v Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea v Guinea
Egypt v D.R. Congo
Cape Verde v Mauritania
Senegal v Ivory Coast
Mali v Burkina Faso
Morocco v South Africa
