Africa Cup of Nations final LIVE: Ivory Coast vs Nigeria latest build-up today

Nigeria’s head coach, Jose Peseiro, is only thinking about winning tonight’s final.

After a slow but steady start to the tournament the Super Eagles have reached the Afcon showpiece and may be the slight favourites to claim the trophy despite Ivory Coast playing at home.

“The atmosphere will be fantastic and my players and staff all prefer to play in a full stadium, despite the level of noise,” said Peseiro yesterday.

“Ivory Coast were favourites ahead of this tournament, but we want to win this Nations Cup. My only plan is to beat Ivory Coast and win this trophy for the people of Nigeria.”

Ivory Coast are the first host nation to reach the Afcon final since Egypt in 2006, with five of the last six hosts to have contested the final having gone on to lift the trophy.

The only exception to this stat being Nigeria in 2000.

Unbeaten unlike their opponents, the Nigerians are the highest-ranked of the finalists – rated sixth in Africa (and 42nd in the world), as opposed to Ivory Coast’s African ranking of eighth (and 49th overall).

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?

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.

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.

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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