Ivory Coast face fellow former champions Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Abidjan after a remarkable run on home soil.
Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen will spearhead Nigeria's attack, while Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller have both provided defining moments In Ivory Coast's run to the finalWatch live on BBC Three, iPlayer and BBC Sport website, listen to radio commentary on BBC World Service in Africa and follow text commentary online
The Elephants are the first host nation to reach the final since Egypt in 2006, with five of the last six hosts to have contested the final having gone on to lift the trophy - the only exception being the Super Eagles themselves in 2000.Unbeaten unlike their opponents, the Nigerians are the highest-ranked of the finalists - rated sixth in Africa , as opposed to Ivory Coast's African ranking of eighth .
Even though they are playing in Abidjan, Nigeria are the nominal home side - and in spite of the intense backing provided by the Ivorian fans, whose support has been regularly praised by the national squad, the Nigeria camp say they would not have it any other way. Nonetheless, Osimhen has earned plaudits for his tireless running and pressing, and played the semi-final despite stomach problems, where he earned the penalty from which Nigeria converted their only goal."He knows he's an important player and because of that, he suffers for the team - getting kicked around - but he helps us as much as the team helps him. It's a collective effort and we fight together.
"We deserve to be in the final and the most important thing was to regain confidence, rebuild the team and it was good to tidy things in defence. We've been taking things one step at a time."Forced to quit playing at the age of 28 because of vein inflammation issues in his legs, Fae was part of the Ivorian side that finished runners-up in 2006, a campaign in which he played every minute.
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