Monday night witnessed a widespread celebration on the streets of Abidjan as Cote d’Ivoire knocked out Senegal at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
The Ivorian Elephants put up a better show against the Teranga Lions after what seemed like a near exit from the AFCON tournament following defeats at the hands of Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. The match ended in a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
![Wild jubilations graced the streets of Abidjan after the match](https://res.6chcdn.feednews.com/assets/v2/eca826550144ae1feaaa8456931463e9?source=nlp&quality=uhq&format=webp&resize=720)
Senegal started like champions. Habib Diallo–who was assisted by Sadio Mane–pounced on a loose ball four minutes in and scored a goal. However, the jubilant roar of the Senegalese fans was soon muffled by the resilience of the Ivorian elephants. The elephants fought tooth and nail. Their persistence paid off when Franck Kessie coolly converted a penalty four minutes from full-time, sending the game into a nerve-wracking extra time. After an extra time of thirty minutes, there was nothing to separate the teams. Hence, the clash was pushed to the ultimate lottery: penalties.
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The Ivorians made all of their penalty kick attempts in the subsequent kicks; however, it wasn’t the same for the Senegalese. It was Senegalese defender Moussa Niakhaté who cracked under pressure, his tame effort sailing over the bar. This led to the ouster of the defending champions and the progress of the hosts into the quarterfinals.
As expected, the streets of Abidjan have been blasting with celebration. Now, two-time African champions Cote d’Ivoire will battle it out against Burkina Faso or Mali for a place in the semi-final.
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