Hosts Ivory Coast knocked the big favorites Senegal out of the tournament – also because the tough draw was probably just right in the end
The trumpets, horns and cheers continued well into the night. The phrase “I’m not going to work tomorrow” was heard more than once on the streets of the metropolis of Abidjan. The success over defending champions and top favorites Senegal in the round of 16 is a very special one for the city, for the country. Because it is one that was hoped for, but not expected.
After all, the tournament had been so disappointing so far that the federation had sacked head coach Jean-Louis Gasset in the middle of the tournament and replaced him with interim coach Emerse Faé. And the latter was actually only because preferred solution Hervé Renard had not received clearance from the French association. It was only the support from Morocco that ensured that the team did not suffer a disaster at their home tournament.
“We were thrashed against Equatorial Guinea in front of the public, in a stadium that bears the name of our president,” said Franck Kessié after the game. “It felt like a humiliation, we were the traitors of an entire nation.” Now the traitors have suddenly become heroes.
And first and foremost Kessié, who held his nerve twice at the decisive moment – first with the 1:1 in regular time, then with the last kick of the dramatic penalty shoot-out.
Kessié – actually a regular starter – had only been on the bench until the final phase. Interim coach Faé, himself a former fixture in the Elephants’ central midfield, had surprisingly given preference to Hull City’s diminutive full-back Jean Michael Seri. Seri won the ball numerous times, prevented the strong Senegalese center from developing and was even voted “Man of the Match”.
Prior to that, Seri had not played a single minute on the pitch at the tournament – just like Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou, who never played a serious role for former coach Gasset and was even just the number 4 center back. On Monday evening, Kossounou gave the Ivorian defense, still amateurish against Equatorial Guinea, support and stability
“We had nothing left to lose,” said Kessié. “They say that a resurrected team can no longer be afraid.” The draw with Senegal in the round of 16 was possibly the best that Côte d’Ivoire could have got: If the hosts presented themselves almost inhibited by the weight of expectation of a football-mad nation in the group stage, the Elephants stuck to themselves against the defending champions despite falling behind early, played in a structured manner – and showed the fighting spirit they thought they had missed right to the end.
“I earn far too much money not to sweat on the pitch,” said Kessié, who moved to Saudi Arabia last summer. “After all, there are people in Africa who walk 20 miles every morning just to get a slice of bread. “