Hosts Ivory Coast defeat defending champions Senegal on penalties to reach final eight

Ivory Coast's hosts emerged victoriously after a disappointing performance in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) group stage. They eliminated the reigning champions, Senegal, and made sure that Egypt, who reached the quarter-finals in 2010, remain the most recent defending champions to do so.

The hosts barely made it into the knockout stages as one of the top third-placed teams and started the game looking like a team lacking confidence.

Senegal took advantage of the situation and scored the first goal after only four minutes. Sadio Mane received a throw-in from Ismail Jakobs and passed it back to Habib Diallo, who controlled the ball with his chest before smashing it into the net.

Although Mane assisted the opening goal, he was lucky to receive only a yellow card for a strong tackle on Ibrahim Sangare just a few minutes later.

Emerse Fae, who had 41 caps for the Ivory Coast, took over as interim head coach midway through the tournament after Jean-Louis Gasset's resignation. Despite the short time to implement his ideas, Fae's team dominated possession in the first half. However, there were few goal-scoring opportunities for both teams after the early goal.

Les Elephants, who struggled in the beginning of the match, were almost punished early in the second half when Ismaila Sarr forced a save from Fofana. Sarr also believed he should have been awarded a penalty after a challenge with Odilon Kossounou, but the referee dismissed the appeals after consulting with the VAR team.

In need of a goal, the home fans were excited by the introduction of Sebastien Haller, who made his first appearance in the tournament. Haller's presence immediately caused a moment of panic in the Senegal defense.

Franck Kessie, a fellow replacement, had an opportunity to score when he drew a good save from Edouard Mendy. Shortly after, Nicolas Pepe, another substitute, attempted to lob Mendy.

However, it seemed like Ivory Coast would go over 300 minutes without scoring in the tournament and Senegal would advance. On the 85th minute, Pierre Atcho awarded a penalty for a foul on Pepe, allowing Kessie to calmly score past Mendy and take the game to extra time.

Despite not being known for his goalscoring abilities, Ivory Coast captain Serge Aurier came close to scoring with a shot that narrowly missed the post. Fofana then made a crucial save to deny Mane's close-range effort just before the end of extra time.

Throughout the match, the hosts dominated possession and territory, while Senegal's performance began to decline. However, even after 120 minutes, the scores remained level, leading to a penalty shootout.

Ivory Coast secured their progression when Moussa Niakhate's penalty struck the post, while all other penalties were successful. Kessie, who had already taken the game to extra time with his spot-kick, dramatically converted the winning penalty in the shootout as well.

Ivory Coast is set to compete against the victor of the upcoming match between Mali and Burkina Faso on Saturday in the quarter-final.