Even in the final, Ivory Coast had to come from a goal down. Nigerian captain William Troost-Ekong scored first in the 38th minute but the hosts fought back with goals by Franck Kessie (62nd) and poster boy Sébastien Haller (81st).
The win sparked stirring scenes of celebration in the packed, 60,000-seat Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara d'Ebimpé and into the night in Abidjan and across the West African country.
WATCH | Dramatic scenes from Abidjan as Ivory Coast win Afcon
Image: Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko
Ivory Coast staged one of the tournament's most remarkable comebacks as they recovered from a near-disastrous group stage to lift the Africa Cup of Nations trophy with their 2-1 win in the final against Nigeria in Abidjan on Sunday night.
The Ivorians looked dead and buried as they scraped through the group stages as one of four best third-placed finishers with a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau that was followed by defeats against Nigeria (1-0) and Equatorial Guinea (4-0), seeing French coach Jean-Louis Gasset fired.
Assistant coach Emerse Faé — the 40-year-old former Nantes, Nice and Elephants midfielder — took over. His dramatic rescue act saw the hosts edge favourites Senegal on penalties in the last 16, beat Mali with a last-gasp added time of extra-time winner in the quarterfinals and beat Democratic Republic of the Congo 1-0 in the semifinals.
Even in the final, Ivory Coast had to come from a goal down. Nigerian captain William Troost-Ekong scored first in the 38th minute but the hosts fought back with goals by Franck Kessie (62nd) and poster boy Sébastien Haller (81st).
The win sparked stirring scenes of celebration in the packed, 60,000-seat Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara d'Ebimpé and into the night in Abidjan and across the West African country.
More scenes of the celebrations in Abidjan below:
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