History Repeats Itself For Cote d’Ivoire As Hosts

It may have been a dream for Cote d’Ivoire to advance beyond the group stage, it turned a nightmare as they were not only defeated, they were humiliated.

A 4-0 defeat of hosts and one of the football powerhouses of Africa by one of the least ranked teams in the continent was unimaginable.

For the Ivoirians, it is like history repeating itself. Forty years ago when they hosted the competition, the results were almost the same as just recorded, only that humiliation was absent.

In 1984, Cote d’Ivoire won their opening match beating Togo 3-0 almost in the same fashion that they beat Guinea Bissau at the opening of the current edition.

Then followed a chain of two defeats. In 1984, the hosts lost 2-1 to Egypt in their second match. In 2024, they lost 1-0 to Nigeria.  In their third match, they lost 2-0 to Cameroon in 1984 while in 2024, it was a 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea.