And now, the endless wait. Ivory Coast suffered an unbelievably heavy defeat this Monday evening in Ebimpe, near Abidjan, against Equatorial Guinea (0-4). While it had started its African Cup of Nations (CAN), in the best possible way by dominating Guinea-Bissau (2-0), the host country found itself on the verge of elimination at the end of the group stage with this second failure in a row, after that against Nigeria (0-1).
The team coached by Frenchman Jean-Louis Gasset finished in third place in Group A, behind its tormentor of the day and Nigeria (beater of Guinea-Bissau, 1-0), both qualified for the round of 16.
Elephants dependent on other results
Seko Fofana’s teammates can still hope to benefit from the very unselective system of this CAN, which also allows the four best 3rds (out of six groups) to join the 8th. But with three small points and a negative goal difference (-3), the Elephants must hope that the results of the other groups are favorable to them, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Equatorial Guinea can boast, like its incredible captain and scorer Emilio Nsue (34 years old). With two new achievements this Monday, the player from Intercity, a Spanish D3 club based in Alicante, appears as the “pichichi” of this CAN, with five achievements.