No Haaland in GOAL's Premier League Team of the Season

Jurgen Klopp: More than a manager

Hayes and the WSL winners & losers of the 2023-24 season

Best Betting Sites in Kenya - Top Betting Sites in May 2024

Dortmund's prolific 'problem child' with an unclear future

Van Persie takes first manager job after snubbing Ten Hag

Another offer for Mourinho! Two clubs in talks to hire ex-Roma boss

Record-breaking title proves Pep is better than Fergie

Guardiola: I'd never heard of Ortega!

Neuer & Muller deny claims they pushed for Tuchel stay

Pogba sends message to Allegri after Juve sacking

Casemiro silences his critics as Man Utd finish eighth

Late winner not enough as Arsenal title dreams evaporate

Emerse Fae details how Ivory Coast rose from the ashes a million times in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as they have now reached the semi-finals

Like the biblical character, Jesus Christ, who died and rose after three days, the story of Ivory Coast has been identical in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.The host nation only won one game in regulation time - their group stage opener against Guinea Bissau and then went on to lose 1-0 to Nigeria and were embarrassed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, prompting the Ivorian Football Federation to sack Jean-Louis Gasset and appointed Emerse Fae as an interim coach.

WHAT HAPPENED?

However, Ivory Coast advanced to the knockout stages through the backdoor as the four best third-place finishers.They fought back against Senegal to kick out the defending champions on penalties but their biggest comeback was against Mali in the quarter-final.Mali were dominant and took the lead, only for the Ivorians to strike in the 90th minute to take the game to extra-time before scoring in extra-time's dying moments to advance to the last four as <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-za/lists/extra-time-nine-man-ivory-coast-africa-cup-of-nations-simon-adingra-oumar-diakite-mali/blt44ba840ecfd220ea" target="_blank">they finished that match with nine men</a>.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

"I told the players we were dead after the defeat against Equatorial Guinea, and we were resurrected after the Morocco game with Zambia," Fae told Caf Online."I had all the emotions running through my head, trying to reflect to see the ideal substitutions. When you reach the semi-finals, you play with teams of high quality, so we are going to prepare ourselves," Fae added.

WHAT WAS SAID

The two-time Afcon winners will now take on the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi-finals on 7 February while they will keep a keen eye on the affair between <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-za/lists/renowned-pitso-mosimane-kaizer-chiefs-itumeleng-khune-hail-ronwen-williams-as-the-best-on-the-continent/bltf29821f023f6ddd7" target="_blank">South Africa and Nigeria</a> as the winner of that tie will advance to the final.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Emerse Fae details how Ivory Coast rose from the ashes a million times in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations as they have now reached the semi-finals | Goal.com Kenya

Ivory Coast&apos;s fairytale run in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has been the livewire of the tournament and coach Emerse Fae delves into their journey. 

Editors' Picks