CHAN 2016: Ivory Coast Defeat Guinea To Win Bronze

Poor goalkeeping, sloppy defending and two missed penalties by Guinea cost them as Ivory Coast emerged 2-1 winners to take bronze at the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (Chan) on Sunday at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.

Ivory Coast started the match without two experienced defenders, Mahan Goua and Yace Marius who were both ruled out due of injury. They had both been part of Ivory Coast's five matches en-route to the final, commanding 802 minutes between themselves.

Abdoulaye Karim Cisse also started in goal ahead of Badra Ali Sangare, the latter saved a penalty against Mali before faltering as Yves Bissouma scored Mali's winner in the semifinals.

AAG: Ivory Coast 2-1 Nigeria - Super Falcons Fail To Grab Bronze

Nigeria women’s team’s invincibility on the African continent is fading away fast as they lost to Côte d'Ivoire in the bronze medal match in the All Africa Games football event on Thursday.

The Falcons lost 2-1 to return home empty handed.

The Ivorians thereby completed a double over the coach Christopher Danjuma-led team at the All Africa Games having lost the group game 2-1.

African Qualifying Review: Egypt Cruises, Ivory Coast Held & More

Egypt crushed Chad 5-1 while title-holders Ivory Coast missed talisman Yaya Toure when held 0-0 by Sierra Leone in 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Sunday.

Cameroon won 1-0 in Gambia and the Central African Republic shocked the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in other matchday 2 games.

Libya fluffed two penalties when losing 2-1 to Cape Verde and Benin and Mali drew 1-1 in a west Africa showdown.

NFF Happy To Host Cote d' Ivoire/Sierre Leone AFCON Qualifier

President of the Nigeria Football President, Amaju Pinnick believes hosting the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations between Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone will be an occasion for the country to underscore its leadership role on the African continent.

Nigeria on Wednesday agreed to host the Afcon qualifier involving both teams after the Confederation of African Football compelled Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia to find alternative venues for their home game owing to the spread of the Ebola virus pandemic.

The NFF boss expressed his delight getting the go ahead from the Federal Ministry of Health to host the match fixed for September 6.

NIGERIA: Keshi Shifts Focus On Tanzania After Addressing NFF

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has asked that attention should be shifted from his alleged application for the job of the Cote d’Ivoire national team to the Super Eagles’ next Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Tanzania in September.

The 53-year-old has come under intense scrutiny since the 2-0 victory over Chad after he put a non-league player on the bench and his name also appeared on the FIFA website as one of more than 50 coaches applying to fill in the space left by Herve Renard.

CAF BEACH SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP: Super Sand Eagles Beat Ivory Coast

The Super Sand Eagles of Nigeria progressed to the semifinals of the 2015 Caf Beach Soccer Championship in Seychelles with a 7-6 win over Ivory Coast in their last group game on Thursday.
The win meant that the Nigerians managed a 100 percent run through the group stage of the tournament.

But the Nigerians were made to work for the win by the Ivorians as the game dragged into overtime after it was tied at 6-6 after three periods of intense play.

Drogba Plans To Play On Next Season

At 37, Drogba is almost at the end of a storied career that has seen him win league titles in England and Turkey, the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup on four occasions and three League Cups.
The former Ivory Coast international looks set to finish 2014-15 as a Premier League title winner for a fourth time. Chelsea are seven points clear with seven games remaining although he is used primarily as an impact substitute in what is his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Drogba penned a one-year deal when he rejoined Chelsea in July and wants to play on into 2015-16.
When quizzed by the Daily Telegraph about whether he has reached a decision regarding his future, he replied: "I have made a decision, yes. And no, it's not my last season."

WOW!!! Ghana's Sammy Kuffour Had His Hair Cut On Live TV After Betting On Ghana To Beat Ivory Coast

            
African TV pundit Sammy Kuffour showed his integrity on Sunday night after the Ivory Coast beat Ghana in the final of the African Cup of Nations. Kuffour, the former Bayern Munich defender, had promised to have his head shaved on SuperSport if the Black Stars failed to end the country’s first continental championship since 1982.

As we know now, the Ivorians beat Ghana in a thrilling penalty shootout, and after the match Kuffour paid for making his public bet on TV.

AFCON 2015: Winning With My Club Is Amazing, Winning With My Country Is Unbelievable - Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure looked more relieved than elated as he lifted the African Nations Cup for the first time at the sixth attempt, breaking his duck at international level with the Ivory Coast.

"When you win with your club, it's quite amazing but with your country it's something unbelievable," he said after the Ivory Coast shaded Ghana 9-8 on penalties in Sunday's final in Bata.
"I've been waiting for so many years now. I've been dreaming of this. It's difficult right now to describe the feeling as captain, it's something special."

AFCON FINAL: Ivory Coast 9 Ghana 8 - Watch All The Goals & Misses From The Penalties

             

IVORY COAST 3-1 DR CONGO

                

Ivory Coast Must Maintain Discipline Against DR Congo - Herve Renard

Ivory Coast coach Herve Renard has called on his players to maintain their game discipline when they face DR Congo in the first semifinals of the 2015 Afcon. Both sides know each other well especially after coming through from the same group in the qualifiers to the Afcon. Ivory Coast lost 4-3 at home but managed a 2-1 away win over DR Congo.

The Elephants after impressively beating tournament favourites Algeria at the quarterfinals, have been tipped to win the Wednesday encounter in Bata.Renard who last won the Afcon with Zambia wh en Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the 2012 tournament with neighbours Gabon is envisaging a difficult game and wants his charges to tread cautiously.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Ghana, Ivory Coast Book Semi-Final Place

Ghana and Ivory Coast took their regular places in the African Nations Cup semifinals by beating Guinea and Algeria on Sunday as the tournament returned to normal after recent controversy.
Wilfried Bony finally came to life, scoring twice for the Ivory Coast, and a late Gervinho goal completed a memorable 3-1 win for the Elephants as they reached the last four for the fourth time in six tournaments.

Four-time champions Ghana comfortably dispatched surprise packages Guinea 3-0 to reach the semifinals for the fifth time in a row.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015: Who Will Knockout Who In The Quarter Finals?

At least one of the leading contenders for the Africa Cup of Nations title will be eliminated at the weekend when Algeria meet the Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals. Sunday's clash in Malabo between two teams who took part in last year's World Cup is the headline game of the last eight as the three-week tournament enters the knockout stage.

Ghana, another of the African sides who featured in Brazil six months ago, play Guinea in Malabo earlier on Sunday. On Saturday, hosts Equatorial Guinea seek to continue their fairytale run when they face Tunisia in Bata after a derby between Congo and neighbours the Democratic Republic of Congo.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015: Herve Renard Will Take Us There - Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure is confident that under coach Herve Renard, Ivory Coast will pick up a win in their opening CAF African Cup of Nations, Group D match against Guinea on Tuesday. The match is scheduled to get underway at 6pm at the Estadio De Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.

The Elephants are certainly favourites heading into the game against Guinea and Toure insists the team are driven to succeed after continuous failures in the Afcon tournament.

Stop Criticising Yaya Toure - Manuel Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini has dismissed criticism of midfielder Yaya Toure's performances ahead of Manchester City's clash with Chelsea on Sunday. The Ivory Coast international was instrumental in City's 2013-14 title-winning campaign, scoring 20 Premier League goals in 35 appearances as Pellegrini's men clinched the crown by two points ahead of Liverpool.

After representing his country at the World Cup in Brazil, Toure has featured in three of City's four top-flight matches so far this term. The 31-year-old missed last weekend's 2-2 draw at Arsenal, and was far from his best in City's last-gasp 1-0 defeat at Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Toure's lethargic performance at the Allianz Arena has drawn widespread criticism in the media but, speaking on Friday, Pellegrini jumped to the defence of the former Barcelona man.

WOW!!! Samuel Eto Buys Fiancee N81.5m Engagement Ring

We all know Eto was once one of the highest paid footballers in the world and we know no African player can compare with his wealth. Cameroonian footballer, Samuel Eto’o has proven that not to be a mere speculation but a solid fact.

The professional footballer has reportedly acquired a ring said to be worth £500,000 (approximately N81 million) to seal his engagement to his long-time partner, Georgette Tra Lou. Eto’o popped the the question last month in Ivory Coast, native country of  Tra Lou.

Giovanni Trapattoni Set To Be Named As New Ivory Coast Coach

Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed that he could be set to continue his coaching career with Ivory Coast.
The enigmatic Italian has been out of work since leaving his role as Republic of Ireland boss by mutual consent last September.

Trapattoni, 75, stated on Tuesday that he rejected the opportunity to take over as Morocco coach and has had talks with Ivory Coast with a view to replacing Sabri Lamouchi.

He told Italian radio station Radio Due: "The Ivory Coast? Everything should materialise in 15 days' time,
"I could also have accepted taking charge of Morocco and I thought about it for 48 hours, but in the end I made my decision."

WORLD CUP: Yaya & Kolo Toure Dump Elephants In Brazil To Honour Late Brother

Yaya and Kolo Touré have left the Ivory Coast national team in Brazil following the death of their brother Ibrahim Toure at the age of 28.

The Ivorians currently have three points and if they can avoid defeat against Greece they will progress to the next round.

Ibrahim died in Manchester, according to the Ivory Coast Football Association, and following the sad event, the Man City midfielder and Liverpool defender both decided to leave their national squad for the time being.

WORLD CUP: Drogba Bites Tongue over Bench Role

Didier Drogba admits that he is having to bite his tongue after being named on the Ivory Coast bench for a second game running.

The striker has been overlooked in favour of Swansea City man Wilfried Bony in the Ivory Coast's first two FIFA World Cup matches.

Drogba has come off the bench in both games and there have been some calls from supporters for the former Chelsea forward to be reinstated to the starting XI for the final Group C match with Greece, which will decide if they reach the knockout stages.