CAN 2023 : Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa in the Semi-Finals
New miracle for Côte d’Ivoire, which defeated Mali with ten players against eleven and at the last minute of extra time (2-1, a.e.t.), on Saturday in Bouaké, and qualified for the semi-finals of the Africa Cup against DR Congo. In the evening, South Africa also qualified for the last four by eliminating Cape Verde 2 penalty kicks to 1 (0-0 a.e.t.).
After a tough match against Cape Verde, South Africa won on penalties. Photo Sipa/Themba Hadebe
Dominating Mali, reduced to ten, trailing, Ivory Coast once again forced its destiny (2-1 a.e.t.) in the last minute of extra time on Saturday in Bouaké to qualify for the CAN semi-final against DR Congo. And Oumar Diakité made the Peace Stadium explode, all in orange : his backheel on a shot by Seko Fofana brought down Mali’s « Eagles », who did not take advantage of their technical superiority. It was the mindset that won.
The leather of the « Elephants » seems untouchable. They had already equalized in the 90th minute through Simon Adingra, while they were playing with ten since the 44th minute and the second yellow card for Odilon Kossounou, guilty of fouling Lassine Sinayoko who was heading towards the goal.
On his first warning, the Leverkusen defender conceded a penalty, but Yahia Fofana stopped Adama Noss Traoré’s shot (17th), a first strong sign of the Ivorians’ mental strength. Nene Dorgeles’ top corner shot (71st) could have discouraged them, but they rushed forward, even with ten.
The Elephants had already survived a completely failed first round, with the 4-0 thrashing against Equatorial Guinea, two days without knowing if they were qualified among the best third-placed teams, and a penalty shootout against the Senegalese titleholder (1-1, 5 penalties to 4), where they had already equalized in the last minutes.
Emerse Faé thus has a 100% success rate as No. 1 on the bench: two matches, two qualifications, since he succeeded Jean-Louis Gasset, of whom he was the assistant, after the Equatorial Guinean setback. The 40-year-old rookie has not remained inactive, revisiting his initial choices, which did not pay off.
This time, the « old-timers » Serge Aurier, Max Gradel, and Jean-Michaël Séri were disappointing. Séri lost the ball, leading to the foul on Lassine Sinayoko, which earned him a second yellow (44th). The central defender was already at fault against the same player, who scored three goals in the AFCON. Aurier was substituted at halftime, exhausted, and Wilfried Singo, his replacement, brought freshness, never hesitating to go forward to make up for the numerical inferiority.
Adingra’s entry also paid off for Faé, scoring after a shot from Seko Fofana was parried, and Sébastien Haller’s entry up front weighed on the Malian defense. He almost scored, but his header hit the crossbar (96th). And Oumar Diakité’s entry changed everything. « After this kind of match, there’s not really much to explain, it’s only emotions », said the evening’s hero… sent off for taking off his shirt.
« My joy was so great that I forgot I had a yellow card » , he smiled, « it’s my mistake, I won’t be able to play in the semi-final. But even if I’m not there, we can do the job ». The Malians can blame themselves, they played better, thanks to their more technical midfield, but they couldn’t resist the final rush. The Elephants are still the black beast of the Eagles in the Africa Cup ; they had already won, notably in the semi-final in 2012 (1-0) and in the round of 16 in 2019 (1-0).
Speaking of history, Côte d’Ivoire
has already beaten DR Congo in the semi-final in 2015 (3-1) on the way to its second Africa Cup. Another sign of destiny for the successful Elephants?
