4 months ago
36 ARTICLE AD
The Africa Cup of Nations has reached the final and Ivory Coast will take on Nigeria in the showpiece this weekend.
Reigning champions Senegal were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 by Cote d'Ivoire, meaning a new winner will be crowned this year.
4
And it will be Ivory Coast or Nigeria who have a chance to get their hands on the trophy.
The host nation saw off DR Congo while the Super Eagles beat South Africa on penalties to continue their journey.
The Elephants have won AFCON twice, with the latest in 2015 and will be backed by a huge home crowd.
Meanwhile, Nigeria are three-time champions, last winning it in 2013, so we all set for what should be a blockbuster final.
Africa Cup of Nations Final: Date and UK kick-off time
The Africa Cup of Nations final will take place on Sunday, February 11.
It will be played at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 8pm UK time.
Africa Cup of Nations Final: How to follow
All of the fixtures at the Africa Cup of Nations fixtures have been broadcast live on TV in the UK.
Sky Sports have provided live coverage of the entire tournament and they will also be showing the final in February.
The game will also be broadcast live and free-to-watch on the BBC.
talkSPORT and talkSPORT.com will keep you up to date with all the latest.
4
Didier Drogba spotted giving Napoli star Victor Osimhen a hug in the tunnel before Nigeria match at AFCON
Africa Cup of Nations Final: Players to watch
Both sides boast some well-known players who all operate in European leagues.
However, there are a few standouts.
For the hosts, Franck Kessie has turned in a couple of monumental performances in the knockout rounds, scoring the penalty in the last-16 tie against Senegal to drag his side level.
He then ran himself into the ground in the 2-1 win over Mali before dominating the midfield against DR Congo in the semi-final.
Another player to watch for the Cote d'Ivoire is Brighton's Simon Adingra.
The young winger missed the opening two games due to a hamstring injury but scored a stoppage-time equaliser against Mali to save his country from going out.
He's pacy, direct and is a good finisher.
4
For Nigeria, the obvious man to watch out for is Victor Osimhen.
However, the Napoli striker isn't having the best AFCON.
He's only scored one goal for the Super Eagles and isn't even taking penalties.
But he's still helped in other ways and won Nigeria's penalty during the semi-final against South Africa, and you can guarantee he will be up for the final.
Ademola Lookman has been Nigeria's standout player.
The former Leicester winger has three goals and one assist at the AFCON and has looked a livewire in every game.
If he gets involved, Ivory Coast could be in trouble.
4
Africa Cup of Nations Final: Routes to showpiece
Ivory Coast
Group stage: January 14 - Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau Group stage: January 18 - Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria Group stage January 22 - Ivory Coast 4-0 Equatorial Guinea Last-16: January 29 - Ivory Coast 1-1 Senegal (5-4 on pens) Quarter-final: February 3 - Ivory Coast 2-1 Mali Semi-finals: February 7 - Ivory Coast 1-0 DR CongoNigeria
Group stage: January 15 - Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea Group stage: January 18 - Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria Group stage: January 22 - Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria Last-16: January 27 - Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon Quarter-finals: February 2 - Nigeria 1-0 Angola Semi-finals: February 7 - Nigeria 1-1 South Africa (4-2 on pens)Africa Cup of Nations: What has been said?
Speaking after their win over South Africa, Nigeria's head coach Jose Peseiro said: "The players deserve to be in the final, it was a very good victory against a good team.
"I said earlier that South Africa have the best organisation because they play together and they created more problems for us.
"It was very difficult to beat them."
