2023 Africa Cup of Nations: 5 things we learned on Day 17 - new manager bounce

And so Cote d'Ivoire restored their pride after the 4-0 humiliation against Equatorial Guinea. Under new boss Emerse Faé, they beat the defending champions Senegal on penalties.

Cote d'Ivoire's players celebrate winning a penalty shoot-out against defending champions Senegal. © AFP / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

Mauritania come and go

It was fast and furious between Cape Verde and Mauritania in Abidjan. Mauritania had several chances to score but their players could not keep cool in the key moment. And in the end a defensive error led to a penalty. Cape Verde’s Ryan Mendes thrashed the ball home for the breakthrough and a place in the quarter-final. Cape Verde have been in the last eight before. That was back in 2013 in South Africa in their first appearance when the Cup of Nations was a 16-team number. Credit to the players from the smallest nation competing at the tournament.

Defensive champions

Defending champions Senegal scored in the third minute of their game against Cote d’Ivoire and spent the rest of the time urging the Ivorians to come and score a goal. Which they eventually did in the 86th minute from the penalty spot. After such negativity from one of the tournament favourites, it was poetic justice that the hosts should progress after a penalty shoot-out.

Curse of the perfect record

In Cameroon two years ago, Nigeria won all their games in the pool stages. Everyone anointed them champions and they promptly lost in the last-16 to a very savvy Tunisia side. Senegal won all their three games and what happens in the last-16? 

Unalloyed joy

Needless to say Cote d'Ivoire's victory meant a lot of cars were driving around tooting their horns. We saw one group of youths tripping down the streets in the Plateau district of Abidjan shouting: "Allez les revenants" which has a dead men walking kind of kink to it. Apt word really. Precisely seven days ago, after Equatorial Guinea savaged them 4-0, there was a deathly pallor about Cote d'Ivoire's title hopes. But tournaments eh? Equatorial Guinea are out - after a 1-0 loss to Guinea - and Cote d'Ivoire are into the last eight.

New heros

Two of the big names from the 2021 tournament Sadio Mané and Mo Salah are gone. Salah was lost due to injury and Mané failed to dazzle against Cote d'Ivoire. “We made the match complicated for ourselves," said Senegal coach Aliou Cissé after the penalty shoot-out defeat. "It’s a shame that we lost the thread having opened the score." Not if you're Ivorian.