AFCON 2024: Host Ivory Coast beats defending champion Senegal on penalties to reach quarterfinals

Frank Kessie scored two successful spot kicks after going on as a substitute to equalise for 1-1 in normal time with his 86th-minute penalty and then in shoot-out.

vory Coast players celebrate after winning the penalty shoot-out. | Photo Credit: Reuters

Frank Kessie scored the winning penalty for host Ivory Coast to knock out defending champion Senegal from the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 in a penalty shootout on Monday.

It was Kessié’s second successful spot kick of the match after going on as a substitute to equalize for 1-1 in normal time with his 86th-minute penalty in Yamoussoukro.

Senegal defender Moussa Niakhate missed the titleholder’s third penalty in the shootout, but all five of the home team’s penalty takers scored to win 5-4 and set off joyful celebrations in Charles Konan Banny Stadium and beyond.

Street parties broke out in Abidjan, where car drivers honked their horns and soccer fans danced, cheered and blew loud vuvuzelas. Some wore Ivory Coast flags and many wore the team’s distinctive orange jersey.

The host got off to a bad start when Habib Diallo took Sadio Mané’s speculative cross on his chest and fired the ball inside the top left corner in the fourth minute.

Mané was booked shortly afterward for a studs-up tackle on Ibrahim Sangare, and TV replays showed he was fortunate to receive just a yellow card.

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The Elephants pushed hard for an equalizer with Seko Fofana leading the charge, but the team lacked a Didier Drogba-type striker to really cause problems for the excellent Senegalese defense.

The host got its break when Senegal ’keeper Edouard Mendy conceded a late penalty for missing the ball and bringing down Nicolas Pépé. Referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho initially felt there was no foul but changed his mind after a VAR check. Kessié scored from the spot to keep the Elephants in the tournament.

Ivory Coast barely qualified for the knockout round thanks only to results in other groups. It also fired its coach and tried unsuccessfully to hire another.

Interim coach Emerse Fae, a former Ivory Coast midfielder, got off to a good start.

“Given where we come from, conceding this very early goal could have sunk us. My players reacted well,” Faé said.

Faé’s team will next face Mali or Burkina Faso, who play their last 16 match on Tuesday.

Senegal was the only team to win all of its group games and arguably looked like the strongest contender.