ABIDJAN: Cote d’Ivoire’s dreams of AFCON glory now lie in tatters after a calamitous 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea, who celebrate a historic victory.

While a sliver of hope remains for a last-16 berth as one of the eight best third-placed teams, a monumental -3 goal difference casts a long shadow. The once-dominant Elephants, AFCON champions in 2015, now face a perilous uphill climb to salvage any semblance of pride from this shattered tournament.

Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, have emerged as the unlikely conquerors of Group A. This stunning upset sends them soaring into the knockout stage as group winners on goal difference ahead of Nigeria, who secured a narrow 1-0 victory against Guinea-Bissau.

During today’s drama, humiliation rained down on Ivory Coast as a rapid-fire Equatorial Guinea triple strike in 15 minutes in the latter half sent thousands of home fans streaming out of the stadium after the first half ended 1-0.

Source: Emirates News Agency