da casino： The hosts pulled off one of the great tournament victories after some early setbacks, but others weren't so lucky

da cassino online： In a tournament overflowing with underdogs stories, it's fitting that Ivory Coast's name has ended up on the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations trophy. On the surface, it may not seem that uplifting that the hosts and 2015 winners came out on top, but that assessment does not take into account just how shambolic their group-stage campaign was, with the Elephants becoming the first team to lose two games and still win a major international tournament – excluding any league formats.

Ivory Coast's unlikely victory only scratches the surfaces of the myriad of captivating storylines the tournament cooked up, too. We had footballing backwaters cutting the giants of the continent down to size, some huge names of African football failing to turn up and even some new stars seemingly emerging on the biggest stage.

GOAL reviews a staggeringly good tournament by breaking down all the winners and losers from the 2023 AFCON…

GettyLOSER: Jean-Louis Gasset

"There are sometimes nightmare matches, matches where everything seems to be against you. A catastrophic scenario," Ivory Coach boss Jean-Louis Gasset mused following his side's awful 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.

The tournament was a huge chance for the 70-year-old. Managerial stints at the likes of Montpelier, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne had previously ended trophyless, and, in the twilight of his career, he was surprisingly gifted the opportunity to lead a football-obsessed nation at a home AFCON.

However, even with a vociferous crowd backing them, Gasset's charges were well off it from the outset. Prior to that 4-0 humiliation, they squeezed past Guinea-Bissau in their opener and were beaten by Nigeria, leaving them on the brink of elimination.

But the Ivorian Football Federation were in no mood to wait around to see if they would be gifted a spot in the knockout stages as one of the best losers. Instead, Gasset was sacked on the spot – which proved to be an inspired decision.

AdvertisementGetty/GOAL/GTVGhanaWINNER: Ivory Coast

With their uninspiring leader out of the picture, the Elephants staged a quite remarkable recovery under interim boss Emerse Fae. After sneaking through to the knockout stages as one of the best third-place teams, not many expected them to get past Senegal in the last 16 – but some penalty heroics assured them of a quarter-final tie with Mali.

That game was even more dramatic. After Odilon Kossounou was sent off on the stroke of half-time, it seemed like the hosts would be heading out; with Mali eventually breaking the deadlock as expected 19 minutes from the end. But, not for the last time in the tournament, Fae's troops refused to accept their fate, with Simon Adingra scoring a last-gasp equaliser to send the game to extra-time.

Even with 10 men, the Elephants refused to be beaten, and after anxiously holding on in the final throes of the additional period, Seko Fofana's shot from the edge of the box was diverted in by Oumar Diakite, booking Ivory Coast's place in the last four just 10 days after Gasset's departure.

GettyWINNER: Sebastien Haller

In said semi-final, the hosts were pitted against DR Congo. It was a drab affair for the first hour or so, particularly when compared with Ivory Coast's exploits in previous rounds, and they were in need of a hero to turn the tide in their favour. And, after a quiet tournament leading up to the semi-final, Sebastien Haller eventually emerged as that inspirational figure.

Just after the hour mark, 100-plus-caps veteran Max Gradel stretched to swing in a cross from the byline. It wasn't very good, looping high, wide and not very handsome into what looked like a harmless area. Haller had other ideas, though. Spotting the flight of the cross early, he quickly shimmied a few paces back and just about made contact. His volley sent the ball travelling on a quite bizarre trajectory, as it smashed into the ground before rising high – too high for DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi in fact, who could only watch as it slowly drifted past his outstretched hand.

After booking his side's place in the final, Haller made sure to rise to the occasion once again, and his winner at the the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe was just as inventive. With the scores level at 1-1 and 10 minutes left on the clock, the electric Adingra burst into some space on the left touchline and fizzed a wicked, low cross to the front post.

A few seconds later, the ball was in the back of the net. In real time, it was hard to see how Haller had managed it, with Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong stuck to him like glue. Fortunately the replay provided some clarity. That showed Haller displaying his lethal striker's instinct, with the Borussia Dortmund man sending Adingra's cross into the far corner by simply sticking his toe out.

It was a fittingly unorthodox goal for unorthodox winners and was exactly what Haller deserved after battling back from his testicular cancer diagnosis in 2022.

Reflecting on the triumphs, and likely with his star striker's inspiring comeback on his mind, Fae said at full-time: "It is more than a fairy tale. I am struggling to take it all in. When I think about all we have been through, we are miracle survivors. We never gave up and we managed to come back from so many tough blows."

Getty ImagesLOSER: Nigeria

While Nigeria will be pleased to have made a significant improvement on their last-16 exit in 2021, they will also head home from the Ivory Coast feeling pretty deflated. Despite going ahead, they were far from at their best in the final, and manager Jose Peseiro might reflect that his side became too passive as they looked to cling onto their early lead.

There is a wider debate to be had around whether the defensively-minded coach is the best man to lead the Super Eagles forward in the long term. No African team possesses as much strength in depth in the forward positions than Nigeria, but they only scored more than once in one of their seven games at the tournament.

While that does suggest that the team were holding something back going forward, you could argue that some structure and conservatism is exactly what the Super Eagles need to be successful at tournaments. Regardless of what side the federation falls on this particular argument, it's hard to shake the feeling that the final represented a big opportunity missed for this stacked Nigeria squad.