Somali Magazine – More than 50,000 fans erupted in celebration in the 81st minute at Abidjan’s Alassane Ouattara Stadium as Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastian Haller put his foot on the end of a cross to give Côte d’Ivoire the lead in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final.
The television cameras switched to Côte d’Ivoire legend Didier Drogba, who celebrated as if he had scored the winning goal himself.
Haller’s goal handed Côte d’Ivoire a 2-1 win over Nigeria, allowing them to claim the AFCON championship for the third time. However, unlike past victories, this one occurred in front of their own fans.
A day earlier, almost 85,000 spectators in Qatar witnessed Akram Afif’s hat-trick as Qatar defeated Jordan 3-1 to win their second Asian Cup title in a succession. Afif’s three goals were all penalties, therefore they were far from the “perfect hat-trick”.