Yves Bissouma lost to his “home country” Ivory Coast.
Mali fell 1-2 to Côte d’Ivoire in the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, on Thursday at 2:00 a.m. ET. The Ivory Coast punched their ticket to the quarterfinals.
The Nations Cup is Africa’s biggest festival. Like the Asian Cup, it’s now down to the quarterfinals and the final. With Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, Sadio Mane’s Senegal, and Achraf Hakimi’s Morocco all eliminated, Nigeria, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the four main contenders.
Côte d’Ivoire had an incredible run in the quarterfinals. After finishing third in their group, the Ivory Coast barely made it to the round of 16. They won their Round of 16 match against Senegal in a penalty shootout to advance to the quarterfinals.
Their quarterfinal opponent was Mali. They finished first in their group with one win and two draws, and cruised to a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso in the Round of 16.
The match between the two teams was tightly contested. Mali held a 62% advantage in possession, but the shots on goal were even at 11-11. It was Mali who had the first laugh. Nene Dorgeles scored the first goal of the game in the 26th minute to take the lead. The Ivory Coast were unable to equalize until the final 토토사이트 추천 minutes of the second half, when Simone Addingra scored a dramatic equalizer just before the end. The drama didn’t stop there for the Ivory Coast. They scored a late winner in stoppage time to beat Mali and advance to the quarterfinals.
There’s a man of destiny in this match. The protagonist is Bissouma, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur. Although he holds Malian nationality, he was born in the Ivory Coast, which means that the Ivory Coast is his “home country”.
Against his home country, Bissouma took matters into his own hands. He came on for Camorie Dumbia in second-half stoppage time and played a total of 30 minutes until the end of extra time. But in the second half of extra time, he had a bittersweet smile on his face as he watched his ‘home country’ Ivory Coast score a theater goal.