Nigeria vs Ivory Coast LIVE: Afcon final updates as Sebastien Haller’s late goal wins tournament for hosts

Who will triumph in the Africa Cup of Nations final?

The Super Eagles are aiming for a fourth continental crown in Abidjan while the Ivorians are looking to add to their triumphs in 1992 and 2015.

The teams meet for the second time at this tournament, 24 days after the Ivorians suffered a first-ever home defeat by Nigeria who won 1-0 in the group stage.

Can Nigeria repeat that performance on the biggest stage?

London at the heart of Nigeria’s Afcon bid

By Mark Gleeson

Nigeria will have a strong London connection in tonight’s Africa Cup of Nations final with key players born in Britain likely to line up against the Ivory Coast.

There are four players born in the boroughs of the British capital in the Nigerian squad plus two other key regulars, Calvin Bassey and midfielder Alex Iwobi, who have lived in London from an early age.

Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi and Ademola Lookman are English-born and have made a major contribution to Nigeria’s progress to the final.

Joe Aribo, also from London and who struggled with injury at the start of the tournament, has had limited game time but has contributed off the bench.

Lookman, who is Nigeria’s top scorer at the tournament with three goals, is proving an excellent partner in attack alongside African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen.

Aina has emerged as arguably the best right back on view over the last month in the Ivory Coast while centre back Ajayi has played every minute of their six games.

Hollywood ending for Ivory Coast?

Ivory Coast have had the most improbable run; minutes away from a group stage exit, they sacked the manager, regrouped and went again under caretaker Emerse Fae. Late comebacks, stunning winners, penalties... everything has gone their way since and the 1-0 win over DR Congo put them in a first final in almost a decade.

More than that, the team have gone from national embarrassment, through restoring respectability and now to the point of being heroes in a few short weeks.

Since their last Afcon win in 2015, Ivory Coast have failed to qualify for two successive World Cup finals, in Russia and Qatar. They also failed to get past the quarter-finals in three straight Afcon appearances, underperforming squads filled with the likes of Wilfried Bony, Jean Michael Seri, Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Zaha and Eric Bailly.

It all makes the scale of this year’s turnaround all the more notable, while victory in the final itself would bring them level with three Afcon triumphs with their opponents, Nigeria. But sometimes in football, in any sport in fact, fairytale stories don’t have that incredible, improbable, unbelievable-yet-believable Hollywood-style ending.

Road to the final - Nigeria

Group C

Jan 14 (Abidjan) drew 1-1 with Equatorial Guinea (Victor Osimhen)

Jan 18 (Abidjan) beat Ivory Coast 1-0 (William Troost-Ekong pen)

Jan 22 (Abidjan) beat Guinea Bissau 1-0 (Opa Sangante own goal)

Last 16

Jan 27 (Abidjan) beat Cameroon 2-0 (Ademola Lookman 2)

Quarter-final

Feb 2 (Abidjan) beat Angola 1-0 (Lookman)

Semi-final

Feb 7 (Bouake) beat South Africa 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw (Troost-Ekong pen)

Road to the final - Ivory Coast

Group Stages

Jan 13 (Abidjan) beat Guinea Bissau 2-0 (Seko Fofana, Jean-Philippe Krasso)

Jan 18 (Abidjan) lost to Nigeria 0-1

Jan 22 (Abidjan) lost to Equatorial Guinea 0-4

Last 16

Jan 29 (Yamoussoukro) beat Senegal 5-4 on penalties after 1-1 draw (Franck Kessie pen)

Quarter-final

Feb 3 (Bouake) beat Mali 2-1 after extra time (Simon Adingra, Oumar Diakite)

Semi-final

Feb 7 (Abidjan) beat DR Congo 1-0 (Sebastien Haller)

Predicted line-ups

Nigeria: Nwabali, Troost-Ekong, Ajayi, Bassey, Aina, Osayi-Samuel, Onyeka, Iwobi, Simon, Lookman, Osimhen.

Ivory Coast: Fofana, Konan, Ndicka, Boly, Singo, Kessie, Seri, Seko Fofana, Adingra, Haller, Gradel.

Hitting the back of the net in the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of a major international tournament should, usually, see strikers head into the final itself brimming with confidence and expectant of leading their country to glory. When that centre-forward has also been one of the game’s elite goalscorers over the past few seasons, even more so. Yet for Nigeria and Victor Osimhen, there’s perhaps instead a lingering sense of frustration, annoyance and unfulfilment, a feeling that he has been thwarted by fractions and unable to be at his explosive best.

Big-match preview, by Karl Matchett

How to watch online

The game will be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport apps and websites. Sky Sports customers can access coverage via the Sky Go app and website.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

When and where is the Afcon final?

Nigeria take on hosts Ivory Coast on Sunday 11 February, at 8pm GMT. The game will take place at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.

Is the final on TV?

The Afcon final will be broadcast live on BBC Three as well as Sky Sports’ Main Event and Premier League channels.

Ivory Coast take on Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final as a thrilling tournament concludes with a blockbuster final in Abidja.

Ivory Coast, the tournament hosts, suffered a torrid start to their campaign and sacked their head coach, Jean-Louis Gasset, following a 4-0 humiliation by Equatorial Guinea. Yet they squeezed through to the knockout stages as a best third-placed team and then proceeded to knock out reigning champions Senegal, much-fancied Mali and DR Congo in the semi-finals to book their place in the final.

Nigeria had steamrolled through most of this Africa Cup of Nations until their tense semi-final with South Africa, which went to a penalty shootout, where Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho put away the winning spot-kick. Nigeria are looking to secure their fourth Afcon title, while Ivory Coast would win their third if they can finish their extraordinary campaign with victory in the country’s capital, Abidjan.

Folllow all the latest Afcon final build-up, team news and more below, and get all the latest betting site offers on the final here.