AFCON 2017: 2015 champions Cote d’Ivoire knocked out, DRC progress as group winners
2015 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire on Tuesday failed to make it out of the group stages as DR Congo took maximum points from the Hawks of Togo to top Group C with seven points.
Morocco ended Cote d’Ivoire’s title defence with a solitary goal separating the two sides. The Ivorians exited the tournament with two points and two goals. Both goals came in their second match against DR Congo.
A stunning long range strike by Morocco’s Rachid Alioui in the 64th minute downed the Elephants. Alioui planted the ball into the top left corner of the Ivorian goal after which the team held on fairly well for the remainder of the game.
The Moroccans also ended with six points whiles Cote d’Ivoire and Togo ended third and fourth with two and one point respectively.
The Ivorians led by Michel Dussuyer were outfoxed by the man who led them to the trophy in 2015, Herve Renard.
Renard after leading Zambia to the title in 2013 joined the Ivory Coast and led them to beat Ghana on penalties in 2015 to win the tournament staged in Equatorial Guinea. It was the second Ivorian AFCON crown in the country’s history.
Dussuyer in a post-match conference said he took full responsibility of the team’s failure to make the next round. The team was without three main players from the 2015 team, the Toure brothers retired after the victory and skipper Gervinho was injured in the lead up to the tournament.
In Group C’s other game, the tournament’s top scorer Junior Kabananga converted Chancel Mbemba’s pass for the opener, his third goal in three games.
Kabananga hit the post with a flicked header before Ndombe Mubele doubled the lead after the break, looping the ball over the keeper amid static defending.
Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba’s tidy finish gave Togo hope, but Paul-Jose M’Poku’s free-kick secured a deserved DR Congo win.
DR Congo go on to play the Group D runners-up in the quarter-finals, which will be one of Mali, Ghana or – most likely – Egypt.
Morocco will play the winner of Group D in the last eight on Sunday.
