Sebastien Haller Volleys Ivory Coast Into AFCON Final 14 Days After Manager Jean-Louis Gasset Was Fired

Sebastien Haller shot Ivory Coast into the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with an unconventional volleyed winner in a 1-0 victory over DR Congo.

Former West Ham forward Haller connected with a deep cross from Max Gradel 65 minutes into Wednesday's semi-final when he kicked the ball firmly into the ground.

The ball then bounced up over the head of keeper Lionel M'Pasi before dipping under the crossbar.

Ivory Coast will now face Nigeria in Sunday's final. The Super Eagles beat South Africa in a penalty shootout in the other semi-final. 

Wednesday's victory over DR Congo came exactly two weeks after Jean-Louis Gasset lost his job as Ivory Coast manager.

The Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) dismissed Gasset on January 24 after Les Elephants had been beaten in two of their three group games.

It looked as though the tournament hosts were set for an early exit, but results elsewhere eventually meant that three points were enough to take them through to the round of 16.

The FIF tried but failed to hire Herve Renard to lead the team into the knockout stage, leaving Emerse Fae in the role of interim head coach.

Fae oversaw a penalty-shootout victory over reigning champions Senegal in the last 16, followed by a 2-1 win over Mali in the quarter-finals thanks to a 122nd-minute winner by Oumar Diakite.

Wednesday's win was less dramatic but the final whistle was still greeted with a huge outpouring of relief and joy.

Ivory Coast were AFCON champions in 1992 and 2015. A win over Nigeria on Sunday would see them become only the fifth team to lift the trophy at least three times.

Highlights: Ivory Coast 1-0 DR Congo

Sebastien Haller pictured (second from left) volleying the ball to score the winning goal for Ivory Coast in a 1-0 victory over DR Congo in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations

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