Memorable moments: Looking back on AFCON 2023

AFCON 2023 opened with a raucous ceremony that was a blend of color and sound featuring a rendition of the tournament's official song by popular Ivorian group Magic System. The exuberant opening ceremony was in keeping in what was to come with triumphs and defeats, stories of redemption, coach sackings — and a record number of goals scored in an African Cup of Nations.

For hosts Ivory Coast, the tournament looked over as quickly as it began after they lost two of their three Group A matches — the second defeat a 4-0 drubbing by tiny Equatorial Guinea. In third place in the group, the Elephants needed other results to advance. By the time they learned that they had advanced, head coach Jean-Louis Gasset had been sent packing.

As the saying goes, coaches are hired to be fired. Never was this truer than at AFCON 2023, where at last count eight had been sacked and one learned that his contract would not be extended. Egypt's Portuguese coach, Rui Vitoria, must have known his fate was sealed after the record title holders failed to win a game and were knocked out by Congo in a dramatic penalty shootout in the round of 16.

Whenever a club or national team sack their coach, there is always the hope that the move will shake the team up, at least in the short term. But who could have predicted this? After Ivory Coast barely scraped into the knockout stage, they replaced Jean-Louis Gasset with his assistant, Emerse Fae, (photo), who had no previous experience as a senior head coach. The rest is history.

Bouchra Karboubi wasn't the first woman to referee a men's AFCON match. That was Salima Mukansanga of Rwanda in 2022. But at AFCON 2023, she became the first North African woman from the Arab world to referee a match at the tournament when she took charge of the Group A match between Guinea Bissau and Nigeria. The Moroccan also served as the fourth official in the final.

Africa Cup of Nations fans can always be counted on to show up in colorful dress and make plenty of noise. AFCON 2023 was no exception, even if ticketing problems contributed to some stadiums being only partially filled, particularly in the early stages. Senegal's fans were disappointed to see their men, the defending champions, fail to make it past the round of 16.

South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved four penalties in the penalty shootout needed to decide their quarterfinal against Cape Verde, which had finished 0-0 after 120 minutes. Williams had earlier kept the South Africans in it by making a vital stop at the end of the first 90. Mothobi Mvala scored the decisive penalty to put South Africa through to the semis for the first time since 2000.

Despite losing the penalty shootout that saw them fall to South Africa in the quarterfinals, Cape Verde were one of the minnows who managed to punch above their weight at AFCON 2023. Like Equatorial Guinea they surprised most by winning their group. Little wonder then, that they were greeted as conquering heroes by their fans when they arrived back in Cape Verde's capital, Praia.

Williams couldn't come up with another miracle when South Africa's semifinal went to penalties against Nigeria. The Super Eagles had African footballer of the year Victor Osimhen in their ranks, but Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong packed a bigger scoring punch. Troost-Ekong scored twice from the spot — once in the second half and once in the shootout — to send Nigeria to the final.

Nigeria's run to the final was a personal triumph for coach Jose Peseiro. The 63-year-old Portuguese had been subjected to criticism in the run-up to the tournament and Nigeria's 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their AFCON opener did little to change the mood. Then Peseiro changed things, putting the emphasis on defense. Nigeria conceded just two goals in six games on their way to the final.

It was a mishit effort, but one could argue that Sebastian Haller was due a bit of luck. It's been a tough year and a half for the striker, who came back from testicular cancer to return to action — and then barely miss winning the Bundesliga with Dortmund. Then he missed the start of AFCON due to injury. So the goal that put Ivory Coast through to the final was an extra special moment.

No luck was required, however, as Sebastien Haller scored an acrobatic right-footed goal in the 81st minute of the final that gave Ivory Coast their third AFCON title. The victory capped off a remarkable story for the Elephants, who had barely scraped through the group stage before sacking their coach. It would be a long night of celebration for Ivory Coast's delirious supporters in Abidjan.