Ghana go into the Sunday showdown as the slightly brighter team results-wise, having managed to bounce back from their opening day defeat to Senegal with four straight wins. Their last two games are 3-0 victories over the Guinea teams, during which encounters IVC did not conced a single goal.
After Captain Asamoah Gyan’s absence had denied them the inspiration needed to overcome Senegal, the talisman’s return has uplifted the Black Stars, so much so that they did not need to use him during their testing semi final against hosts Equatorial Guinea.
Ivory Coast are not much different. Though they only have three Group Stage wins against the Black Stars’ four, they have been able to see off really tough teams in the shape of Cameroon and best-in-Africa Algeria.
The Elephant’s inspiration comes in the form of 31-year-old Yaya Toure, a midfield henchman who is a giant both on the pitch and in stature. It was the Manchester City’s fantastic performance that saw the Ivorians past a determined DR Congo side and into the finals on Wednesday.
Who will it be? Will it be Ghana adding a fifth AFCON trophy to the four they already have in their cabinet or Ivory Coast clinching a second trophy? Before we go deeper into the matter, it is imperative to look at some of both teams’ vital statistics:
FIFA World Ranking:
Ivory Coast: 28
Ghana: 37
FIFA CAF Ranking:
Ivory Coast: 03
Ghana: 05
AFCON Record:
Ivory Coast: 19 appearances, Champions (1) times: 1992
Ghana: 19 appearances, Champions (4) times: 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982
2015 AFCON Group Stage results:
Ivory Coast:
1-1 draw vs. Guinea
1-1 draw vs. Mali
1-0 win vs. Cameroon
3-1 win vs. Algeria
3-1 win vs. DR Congo
Ghana:
1-2 loss vs. Senegal
1-0 win vs. Algeria
2-1 win vs. South Africa
3-0 win vs. Guinea
3-0 win vs. Equatorial Guinea
Premier League Contigent:
Ivory Coast: Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Wilfried Bony (Manchester City)
Ghana: Christian Atsu (Everton, on loan from Chelsea), Kwesi Appiah (Crystal Palace)
BACK IN TIME: Here is what happened when Ghana met IVC in an AFCON Final back ('92):
Finals in any football competition are always hard to predict but the 2015 African Cup of Nations final is even more so. One can hope that it is the better between these two fantastic teams that takes home the trophy.
Ghana XI: Razak Brimah, Harrison Afful, Baba Rahman, Jonathan Mensah, John Boye, Mubarak Wakaso, Afriyie Acquah, Andre Ayew, Christian Atsu, Asamoah Gyan,Kwesi Appiah
Ivory Coast: Barry, Aurier, Tiene, K. Toure, Bailly, Kanon, S. Die, Gradel, Y. Toure, Bony, Gervinho
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
