Hosts Ivory Coast triumph at the Africa Cup. Sebastien Haller, striker for Borussia Dortmund, scores the winning goal in the final.

What a day for Sebastien Haller: the Borussia Dortmund striker celebrated the Africa Cup title with the Ivory Coast national team on Sunday. The hosts of the tournament won the final against Nigeria 2-1 (0-1). Haller played a major role in this, scoring the winning goal for Ivory Coast in the final phase, artistically tipping a half-high cross into the goal (81st).

The West African country triumphed for the third time overall in the Africa Cup. BVB attacker Haller had already emerged as the match winner in the semi-final. He scored the only goal of the game to lead the team to a 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo. The 29-year-old was also successful from the penalty spot in the round of 16 against Senegal (4-5 on penalties). Haller had missed the group stage due to injury.

Before the final, Haller’s teammates from Borussia Dortmund had come forward. They posted a message on social media wishing Haller luck for the game. However, the Ivory Coast got off to an unfortunate start. William Troost-Ekong put Nigeria in the lead towards the end of the first half (38th minute) by heading a corner kick into the goal. After a little over an hour, Franck Kessié equalized for the Ivory Coast, who were superior in terms of play (62nd minute), also with a header.

And after 75 minutes, Haller made his first big appearance. With a spectacular scissor kick, he narrowly missed the opposing goal. A little later, the Dortmund player, who came back from cancer about a year ago, scored to make it 2-1 and let the fans in the sold-out stadium in the metropolis of Abidjan cheer. The 2-1 victory saw Ivory Coast through to the next round. “I’m a striker, I have to score goals, so I feel the pressure,” said Haller before the game – and he delivered in the final. (ea)