Emerse Faé, a former Ivorian midfielder will lead the Elephants in the knockout stages as they now have another chance to continue their fight for a third AFCON title.
Both the old, young, male and female thronged the streets chanting and expressing joy at the new development.
After their shocking group stage collapse, culminating in a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea, the odds were stacked against the hosts.
Their fate didn’t lie in their own hands, resting precariously on the outcome of other matches.
Before the lucky qualification, the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) earlier on Wednesday released an official statement saying they had terminated the contract of 70-year-old French coach Jean-Louis Gasset and his assistant Ghislain Printant.
Gasset, who has coached for more than 35 years in France and Spain, took over in Cote d’Ivoire from Patrice Beaumelle in May 2022.