Ivory Coast came from a goal down to beat Nigeria 2-1 and win their third AFCON trophy in history. The Elephants have become the first host nation to win it in 20 years and have also made history by being the first county to sack a manager mid-tournament and still go on to win the competition.
Nigeria's captain and leader William Troost-Ekong opened the scoring with a powerful header to set the ball rolling at the packed Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan. The Super Eagles had conceded only two goals all tournament and one from open play so this was a massive psychological lift.
But the Ivory Coast as they have shown throughout this tournament just never know when they are beaten. Slowly they started asserting their dominance in the game and creating chances. The impressive Stanley Nwabali in post for the Super Eagles pulled off two brilliant saves and Calvin Bassey cleared one goal-bound shot off the line before inevitably Franck Kessie headed home the equaliser from a Simon Adingra cross to level up with just over 25 minutes to go.
That was where the game shifted and Sebastien Haller who battled cancer last year completed the turnaround with a near-post finish to put his country ahead for the first time. Nigeria threw the kitchen sink at them late on but the Ivorians held on to seal a historic home win.
Here is how we rated the newly crowned African Champions out there:
1. Yahia Fofana
The Ivorian number one was faultless all game. he's had a brilliant tournament.
2. Ghislain Konan -8
One of the unsung heroes of this Ivorian team. Used his speed and power to good effect which restricted the Nigerian attack.
3. Evan Ndicka -8
The AS Roma man won his battle with Osimhen. Every team needs a player like him
4. Serge Aurier-8
The Ivorian captain was everywhere all game. Epitomised their fight and hunger.