What a great moment it is for Ivorian Football. Can we please flashback to 22nd January 2024?
In front of 42,550 spectators, Ivory Coast was beaten, bruised, destroyed, eviscerated and pulverized 4-0 by an impressive Equatorial Guinea led by Emilio Nsue. One can use 2,000 adjectives to describe how poor the Elephants were on that afternoon in Abidjan.
The playing body and the staff of the Elephants needed huge protection before they could leave Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara. All hope was lost as every Ivorian lost hope in their chances to progress to the knock phase.
The Ivorians needed Ghana to not beat Mozambique and also the already qualified Morocco to defeat Zambia before qualifying.
70-year-old French head coach Jean Louis Gasset was fired and rookie Emerse Fae took over. Boommmm… Ivory Coast won AFCON 2023. Senegal, Mali, DR Congo and Nigeria were all beaten by the wounded Elephants.
One of the huge rewards for the Elephants in their triumph is that they have made a significant stride by moving up 10 places from 49 to 39 worldwide in the latest FIFA Rankings released on Wednesday.
Ivory Coast was ranked 50th and 9th by FIFA and CAF respectively in December 2023 but have zoomed their way to 39th and 5th respectively in Africa and the world.
This is the reward you get when you fight from all angles and triumph. It is great news to be in the top 5 best-ranked African teams by FIFA as it enhances your chance of playing against the best-ranked teams in friendly games. You also stand a chance of getting easier opponents in any draw.
