Following their miraculous qualification to the round of 16 of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, a Catholic Bishop has predicted the host nation will be champions of the tournament, saying ‘the resurrected person no longer dies.”
Ivory Coast had to wait to see Morocco beat Zambia to confirm their qualification to the Round of 16 after falling to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game.
The Elephants beat Guinea-Bissau in the opening group game but fell to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.
Falling heavily to Equatorial Guinea by 4-0 in their final group game, the Ivorian fans were livid against their team and vandalized some cars and other property in their reaction.
But Morocco’s win over Zambia gave a lifeline to the host as they finished as one of the best 3rd placed sides.
Following their qualification, Bishop Alexis Youlo Touabli of Agboville has given a strong prediction that the Elephants will go on to win the AFCON title.
“… the resurrected person no longer dies,” he told credochristi.com.
“So, dead and resurrected on the third day, the Elephants will no longer die. We have to go all the way. My joy is immense and I believe that it is the same for all Ivorians, happy to see our team resurrected where we thought everything was over.
“If there were a machine to weigh joy, like machines to weigh cocoa and coffee, I believe that my joy would weigh tons and tons this morning because who would have believed it? We who were dead were resurrected three days later,” he noted.
The Bishop also emphasised on the importance of the tournament to the economy and how it’s bringing people of different cultures together.
“Things are going well. In the tournament, there is the purely footballing aspect, but there is much more than that. It’s the meeting of peoples. Sports is a factor of gathering, communion, meeting, and on this point, Can 2023 in Ivory Coast is a success. See all this conviviality,” he noted.
Ivory Coast will take on tournament favourites Senegal in their R16 clash in a make or break clash on Monday at the Charles Konan Banny de Stadium in Yamoussoukro.