Senegal – Ivory Coast
Franck Kessie is certified with a powerful fifth step in the penalty shootout Ivory Coast qualification for the African Cup quarter-finals who organizes after defeating defending champion Senegal this Monday (4-5)in the 1/8 final match, which endedin case of a draw (1-1) in extra time.
A result that seemed impossible given the existing chaos as part of the host team, which did not hesitate to sack coach Jean-Louis Gasse after the completion of the group stage.
Circumstance that forced him to temporarily take over the leadership of the team Gasset’s assistant and youth team coach Fae Emers, it couldn’t have had a more challenging premiere.
If the “elephants” arrived at the meeting immersed in a deep crisis, as evidenced by the resounding 4:0 score in which the Ivorian team lost to Equatorial Guinea andOn the last day of the first phase in the case of Senegal arrived here after beating Gambia (3-0), Cameroon (3-1) and Guinea (2-0) in their first three games.
An impeccable streak, incomprehensible without the trident they form in the attack of the “lions of Terenga”. Ismaila Sarr, Olympique Marseille player Habib Diallo and Sadio Mane. Former Liverpool and Bayern Munich player and current teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Al-Nasr.
Sadio Mane, thanks to whom the Senegal national team scored the first goal six minutes into the match. with an attack on the left flank, ending with a sensational pass which Habib Diallo missed to make it 1-0.
A result that seemed to be enough for Aliou Cissé’s men, who created few clear scoring chances in the first half.which allowed Côte d’Ivoire to gain more and more trust.
A circumstance that was not long in coming was transferred to the field in the second half, in which The locals were given a good chance from time to time thanks to the boots of Serge Aurier to level the score.
A draw that eventually occurred in the 86th minute as a result of a penalty that goalkeeper Edouard Mendy converted against Nicolas Pepe. which was not initially indicated by the judge, who changed his decision when viewing the video image.
The maximum penalty, for which Frank Kessie was responsible, the score was 1:1, which sent the match into extra time. in which Aurier (Ivory Coast) and Sane (Senegal) had a chance to avoid a penalty shootout.
However, progress to the quarter-finals was ultimately decided from eleven meters. a stroke of luck in which Ivory Coast, champions in 1992 and 2015, proved more successful than the Senegal team.
In fact, the elephants did not miss a single one of the five shots they attempted. while the Terenghi Lions lost the opportunity to confirm the title they won three years ago in Cameroon.seeing Moussa Niahate hit the post from Senegal’s third penalty.
The ruling that allowed Côte d’Ivoire a team that just a few days ago seemed hopeless for reaching the quarter-finals, in which the hosts They will face the winner of the match between Mali and Burkina Faso.