It was more than a jaw-dropping tap-in. It was bigger than a title-worth goal. It was a miracle in itself!Sebastien Haller, who has battled back from cancer to resume his career, scored an impressive winner on Sunday night in Abidjan to provide Ivory Coast with their only third-ever Africa Cup of Nations title after defeating Nigeria 2-1.The Elephants lost two of their three group games, sacked their manager mid-tournament, and, after all that, have now clinched an extraordinary, fairytale-like triumph led by their interim boss, Emerse Fae.In July 2022… Sebastian Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancerHe beat the cancer & returned to football after 7 monthsTonight he has potentially scored the winning goal for his country in the AFCON final. Incredible ❤️🙏🏼🇨🇮 pic.twitter.com/HgnPR0dFz1— Rising Ballers (@RisingBallers_) February 11, 2024 Straight from the kick-off we saw an intense battle, with the packed stands always keeping that rhythm high. Still, it was not until Max Gradel’s acrobatic bicycle kick into the side net that we saw some proper chance on the pitch. On the other hand, the game never lacked nervousness as Victor Osimhen confronted Evan N’dicka. The Nigerian striker thought he’d been elbowed going for an aerial challenge, but it all ended up in Jose Peseiro’s yellow card due to his vocal protests by the sideline.But from that moment on, it was all about football and not the other way around.Simon Adingra looked like he was about to put the hosts ahead before Stanley Nwabali made a superb save to keep it out. And then, when the Elephants missed their chance to take the lead, the Super Eagles struck back almost instantly against the run of play as they had been on the back foot from the kick-off.A corner was only half cleared to William Troost-Ekong, who jumped sky-high to fire a powerful header into the back of the net, silencing the drums.Goal: William Troost-Ekong | 🇳🇬 Nigeria 1-0 Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮pic.twitter.com/MDAOmhRBg3— FootColic ⚽️ (@FootColic) February 11, 2024 Still, it was far from over, with the hosts coming close to levelling the score shortly after the break as Adingra’s cross was cleared by Nwabali straight to Gradel, whose fierce strike was heading for the net before it hit Calvin Bassey.However, that equalizer was obviously inevitable, with Franck Kessie reacting like a veteran striker on the far post in the 62nd minute. Another corner, another goal, even-steven at 1-1.Emerse Fae’s boys didn’t settle with a stalemate but kept pushing for the second, albeit the tiredness was blatant on the faces of some of their attackers. One of them, Sebastien Haller, went for an acrobatic attempt inside the box, but his stunning volley flashed narrowly wide. Only four minutes later, the tables have turned, though.SIMON ADINGRA – ANOTHER ASSIST IN THE AFCON FINAL! 🇨🇮 What a goal and story from Haller 👏🧡pic.twitter.com/2VvmdbLapO— Ryan (@ryanadsett) February 11, 2024 The roof came off as Haller managed to stick out his foot to turn Simon Adingra’s cross past the keeper for an unprecedented jubilation, 2-1.There were still nine minutes left on the clock, and the gutted Super Eagles did their best to find a late equalizer, but the hosts were unwilling to allow anything like that.AFCON 2023 – FINALIvory Coast – Nigeria 2-1 (0-1)/Kessie 62, Haller 81 – Troost-Ekong 38/
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