Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) holders, Cote d’Ivoire, have been eliminated from the tournament after a 1-0 defeat to Morocco on Tuesday.
Substitute Rachid Alioui’s 64th minute wonder-strike proved to be the only goal of a cagey encounter and sealed his side’s place in the knockout stages.
The Elephants were only able to muster a final tally of two points in the group stage as their opponents took second spot in Group C behind DR Congo.
Cote d’Ivoire, which paraded Premier League stars Wilfried Bony, Wilfried Zaha and Eric Bailly as well as Paris Saint-German defender Serge Aurier, were one of the pre-tournament favourites.
However, expectations dropped following disappointing stalemates with Togo and DRC.
Coach Michel Dussuyer’s side needed nothing less than victory in their final group game against the Atlas Lions which is led by their former gaffer, Herve Renard.
But it turned out that the Frenchman who won them the AFCON title two years ago eventually had the last laugh.
DRC finished top of Group C with seven points followed by Morocco who notched six while Cote d’Ivoire and Togo ended with two and one respectively.
