Former Rangers pair Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo suffer AFCON heartbreak with Nigeria as hosts Ivory Coast are crowned winners of the tournament.
Now Fulham defender Calvin Bassey started the clash with the Ivorians before Joe Aribo came off the bench with minutes to play in the Final, which took place in Abidjan.
Coming from behind to win the clash 2-1, the Ivory Coast lifted the AFCON trophy courtesy of a late strike from Sebastian Haller.
In a fairlytale ending to the month long festival of African football, French-born striker Haller scored the winning goal having overcome testicular cancer in 2022.
Ivory Coast AFCON fairytale, Nigeria heartbreak
Things had started so brightly for Calvin Bassey and Nigeria, Troost William-Ekong powering home a stunning header as the ball lingered in the air from a shoddily-cleared corner in the first half.
The goal had come against the run of play and Ivory Coast got a fully-deserved equaliser in the second period, AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie nodding home from a corner after finding himself free in the box.
Then, with nine minutes to play, up stepped Sebastian Haller to steal the headlines, the striker flicking on a low cross into the back of the Nigeria net minutes after sending an acrobatic overhead kick wide.
On the balance of play, Ivory Coast probably deserved to lift the trophy and they go level with Nigeria on three AFCON wins overall in the history of the competition.
Rangers loyalties split with ex-Ibrox pair gutted
Fairytale ending or not, ex-Rangers pair Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo were left devastated as Nigeria fell to Ivory Coast in the AFCON Final.
Both players remain highly thought of at Ibrox and as a result there would’ve been plenty of Rangers fans willing them on to victory.
As for the current crop, whilst there were no Rangers players involved in the Final, Ibrox loyalties were split between Nigerian international Leon Balogun and Ivorian midfielder Mohamed Diomande.
Rangers forward Abdallah Sima, who is on loan from Brighton, was initially called up to the tournament with Senegal but was sent home after suffering a devastating injury.
As a result, there were no Rangers representatives at the tournament.
