2023 AFCON: 10-Man Ivory Coast Knockout Mali

Ivory Coast proved their doubters wrong tonight, February 3, as they played against all the odds to defeat Mali in the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFCON.

When Bayer Leverkusen and Ivorian defender, Odilon Kossounou received a red card in the 41st minute of the encounter, most football enthusiasts who are not Ivorians concluded that the journey of Ivory Coast was over.

Interestingly, the hosts of the 2023 AFCON, were able to organize themselves well enough to finish the first half with a 0-0 draw after the Malians missed a spot-kick which would have given them the lead.

In the second half, the intense game resumed as the Elephants of Ivory Coast continued to push the game like they weren’t playing with a man down.

Unfortunately, their push didn’t yield much at first as Mali broke the hearts of the Ivorians further by scoring the match opener in the 71st minute through the boots of Nene Dorgeles.

When most followers of the game thought the match would end 1-0 in favour of the Malians, Simon Adingra stunned them in the 90th minute to force the game into extra time.

During the extra time, Ivory Coast continued to play like they were playing with a complete team as they continued to put pressure on the Malians. Their pressure yielded the needed result when Oumar Diakité gifted the Ivorians their first lead after 120+2 minutes.

A minute after, another Ivorian player and goalscorer, Diakité was red-carded; Hamari Traoré of Mali was also shown the red card after 120+5 minutes of action as the game ended 2-1 in favour of Ivory Coast.

This means that Ivory Coast will face DR Congo in the semi-final stage of the 2023 AFCON at 9 p.m. on February 7.