Cote d’Ivoire qualifies for Tokyo2020
Cote d’Ivoire qualifies for Tokyo2020 as Eliezer sends them to Tokyo the promise land. Cote d’Ivoire needed a penalty shootout to defeat Ghana 3-2 after a 2-2 draw. This win helped them to secure their places in the Friday final and earned them the first ticket directly into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games next year.
By this win Cote d’Ivoire qualifies for Tokyo2020 as Africa’s first representative.
Ghana was never going to go down very easy. They came back twice to level the scores and showed a lot of quality and the desire to spoil the party for Cote d’Ivoire. But as fate will have it, Ghana has an undisputed record of missing out on penalties at big games and tournaments such as the AFCON, The world cup and other matches.
After a well fought battle and a 2-2 draw in regular time, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire headed into the extra time with tired limbs. The extra time was dry as no team scored.
The game was decided on penalties. The Ivoirian goalkeeper Eliezer Tape saved three of Ghana’s kicks to send his side to next year’s Olympics for the second time in their history.
After 13 minutes, Yussouf Dao took the lead for the Ivoirians and connected him well with the pass of Hamid Traore which gave him a clear lead. This lead lasted until the half of the day.
Yaw Yeboah calmly slotted in the equalizer for the Black Meteors six minutes after the break. Samuel Obieng sent a cross to the Ivoirian keeper, which found Yeboah, whose shot was so good.
Dao knew he would win the game for Cote d’Ivoire when his brace ended up in the net as the second goal for his team after Silas Gnaka cross diving header.
However, Ghana had other ideas as Evans Mensah got the cross from Ouswo Kwabena to score from close distance and tie the game into extra time.
Eliezer sends Cote d’Ivoire to Tokyo in the end with his amazing saves that broke millions of Ghanaian hearts on the night.
Eliezer Tape was the Ivoirian hero in the shootout after three spot kicks savwes. The Elephants won three to two to reach the Olympic Finals next year. When playing third place playoffs on Friday, Ghana will have a second chance to pick the last ticket.
In the second semi-final Egypt takes on South Africa at the same venue later