As expected, the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations did not disappoint. The 34th edition of the tournament served up tons of unforgettable moments, from great goals and performances to shock results and upsets.
With the end-of-tournament awards handed out, let’s take a look at the teams and players that stood out from the crowd after a memorable month of action.
🏆 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 🏆 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire are crowned African Champions for the third time in their history! 🥇#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Y2xx7l1JAb— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 11, 2024
🏆 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 🏆 🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire are crowned African Champions for the third time in their history! 🥇#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/Y2xx7l1JAb
After scraping through to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams, the host nation sensationally sacked manager Jean-Louis Gasset after the group stage, replacing him with former assistant Emerse Fae.
Under Fae’s guidance, a revived Ivory Coast outfit dispatched defending champions Senegal, Mali and DR Congo before coming from behind to defeat Nigeria in the final, completing a remarkable triumph on home soil.
Despite losing in the final, Nigeria captain William Troost-Ekong was named player of the tournament for his efforts, having scored goals in the group stage, semi-finals and final.
The ex-Watford centre-back was immense at both ends of the pitch throughout the tournament, aiding the Super Eagles with multiple goals and clean sheets until the very end.
It’s fair to say that Equatorial Guinea were the surprise package of the group stage, thanks largely to the exploits of Emilio Nsue, who scored five goals in four appearances to claim the Golden Boot.
After netting a hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau, the former Middlesbrough and Birmingham City man bagged a brace against Ivory Coast. However, his nation’s journey ended in the round of 16.
South Africa’s Ronwen Williams achieved four consecutive clean sheets at AFCON 2023, preventing Namibia, Tunisia, Morocco and Cape Verde from scoring.
The shot-stopper also helped Bafana Bafana win penalty shootouts in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and third-place play-off, so it’s only right that he secured the best goalkeeper award.
Brighton & Hove Albion are renowned for finding and nurturing some of the most exciting young players in world football, and Simon Adingra is the latest in a long line of prodigies.
Despite missing the first two games due to injury, the Ivory Coast winger returned to score against Mali in the quarter-finals before assisting both of the champions’ goals in the final.
Last but not least, South Africa were recognised for the fair play award. After receiving just three yellow cards in three group games, Bafana Bafana received three yellows in four knockout matches.
As a result, South Africa picked up only six yellow cards in seven AFCON 2023 games. It is also worth noting that they avoided a single yellow in four of those encounters.