Emerse Fae, Ivory Coast’s interim head coach, described his team’s march to the Africa Cup of Nations final as “like a dream” after defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0.
The result is even more impressive given that they were on the verge of being eliminated after losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea in their last group game.
However, despite replacing manager Jean-Louis Gasset, they advanced to the last 16 as the fourth and last third-placed team, defeating holders Senegal and Mali before earning their place in the final with Sebastien Haller‘s 65th-minute goal at the Ebimpe Olympic stadium.
“We are happy; we’re really moved,” Fae said. “It’s like a dream when you go back two weeks to the defeat here against Equatorial Guinea.
“It was hard then to imagine that we might qualify for the final of our own AFCON.”
Fae, Gasset’s assistant, was named to interim coach following his departure and has led the host nation’s stunning turnaround.
Ivory Coast will now face Nigeria in Sunday’s final, after Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho converted the winning penalty to defeat South Africa 4-2 on penalties in the other last-four match.
If Fae’s team wins, it would complete a stunning turnaround and secure Ivory Coast’s third AFCON title.
“As long as you still have a five or 10% chance you need to keep believing, because that is what makes football beautiful,” said midfielder Franck Kessie, who was named player of the match against DR Congo.
“After the Morocco result we knew we had qualified and that changed everything. It gave us the strength we needed, it boosted us. We knew we couldn’t do worse than in the first round.
“We need to keep going like this because you can’t go all the way to the final only to then give up.”
