The Ivory Coast national team is gearing up for a fiery encounter against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted in Ivory Coast until the eleventh of this month.
Ivory Coast secured a thrilling victory over Mali in the quarter-finals, winning 2-1 in a match played on Saturday.
“The Elephants” found themselves trailing against Mali with a goal scored by Nieni Dorgeles.
However, Simon Adingra leveled the game with a goal before Omar Diakite fired the mercy bullet in the 120th minute, leading the match to a penalty shootout.
Ivory Coast will face Congo, who secured a 3-1 victory against Guinea in the quarter-finals, with goals from Mohamed Bayo for Guinea and Arthur Masuaku, Yvan Wissa, and Chancel Mbemba for Congo.
The Ivorian and Congolese national teams have only met once before in the African Cup of Nations, in the 2015 semi-final, where Ivory Coast emerged victorious, advancing to face Ghana in the final.
They also faced each other in the group stage.
History of Ivory Coast vs. Congo Encounters in AFCON
In the 1965 Africa Cup of Nations, the two teams met in the group stage, resulting in a 3-0 victory for “The Elephants.”
They clashed again in the 1988 tournament, ending in a positive draw with a goal for each team in the group stage.
In the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, Congo secured a 3-1 victory against Ivory Coast in the group stage.
In the 2015 tournament, Ivory Coast avenged their previous loss, defeating Congo 3-1 in the semi-finals before winning the championship against Ghana in a penalty shootout.
The teams drew 2-2 in the group stage of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.
The highly anticipated semi-final match in the ongoing tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, February 7th, at 10:00 PM Cairo time.
