Ivory Coast have booked their place in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in three years, courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Congo DR on Wednesday.
The Elephants, who fell short at the last hurdle in a penalty shootout defeat at the hands of Zambia in their last appearance at that stage, were able to build on narrow first-half lead to set up a meeting with either Ghana or hosts Equatorial Guinea.
Star midfielder, Yaya Toure, made the breakthrough with 20 minutes of the contest played, latching onto a loose ball on the edge of the box, which sat up nicely for him, before taking range with a finely-struck effort into the back of the net.
That lead lasted all of three minutes, though, with Dieumerci Mbokani cooly dispatching from the spot after his side were awarded a penalty kick.
Gervinho then added a vital second goal before the break for Ivory Coast, being picked out in acres of space inside the area before curling the ball into the far corner.
Toure very nearly doubled his personal tally with a low drive which zipped beyond the post 10 minutes into the second half, although the miss mattered little as Wilfried Kanon did find a way through to make certain of Ivory Coast’s passage into the final.