Sports Correspondent

Ivory Coast’s hopes in the Africa Cup of Nations took a severe blow as they succumbed to a 4-0 defeat against Equatorial Guinea in their final Group A match in Abidjan.

Emilio Nsue’s double secured Equatorial Guinea’s top spot in the group, edging out Nigeria on goal difference.

The two-time champions now face the possibility of elimination, having only failed to progress beyond the group stage once in the last nine editions of the tournament in 2017.

Jean-Louis Gasset’s team must await results to determine if they can advance as one of the four best third-placed teams, following their heaviest-ever home defeat.

Despite a promising start, Ivory Coast struggled to create chances and experienced a late collapse as Equatorial Guinea scored three goals in 15 minutes, leaving thousands of disappointed supporters exiting the stadium.