Ivory Coast has had to wait to enjoy Sébastien Haller's impact at international level, but after overcoming his cancer diagnosis and recent injury problems, the striker is finally making his mark at the African Cup of Nations.
Wednesday's AFCON semi-final victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo was the perfect occasion for the Borussia Dortmund striker to finally make his mark for the hosts, scoring the only goal of the game in the 65th minute to send the Africans Westerners to Sunday's final against Nigeria. .
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Despite his struggles at club level this season (in which Haller has made just four Bundesliga starts and failed to score), it was a timely reminder of what the 29-year-old has to offer and why he can still fire the most unlikely player. from finalist to a third AFCON crown.
“You saw that he is our support point,” Ivory Coast midfielder Jean-Michael Seri told ESPN. “He is our striker, he is very efficient and does not need two or three opportunities to score.
“He showed how much he brings to us and how good he does for the team. We knew that with our strong play we would eventually score, but we weren't sure when exactly.” [until Haller struck]”.
It has been just over 18 months since Haller was first diagnosed with the testicular cancer that halted his career for the first half of the 2022-23 season, while his Nations Cup campaign has also been slow after The forward arrived at camp with an ankle injury. which completely threatened his participation.
Despite his decisive acrobatic intervention against the Congolese, Haller has struggled to impose himself during the competition as he was mainly used as a substitute, although he looked rusty and well below match fitness.
“I had this injury since December 19, but every day since then I have worked to return as quickly as possible: healing, resting, doing everything,” he told ESPN. “The only secret I have is this job, not giving up.
“It hasn't been easy, but [the victory] It was the reward for all those efforts. Of course, I wasn't the only person who did this, but you have to keep believing and making sacrifices.
“Of course, it is difficult and physically it is not easy, but as a team we come from very far and, although we are making progress every day, it is not easy to handle.”
The hosts were on the verge of elimination after collecting just three points from their group matches, including a devastating 4-0 loss to lowly Equatorial Guinea.
However, despite replacing coach Jean-Louis Gasset with his assistant Emerse Fae, they qualified for the round of 16 as one of the four best third-place finishers, before eliminating defending champions Senegal on penalties in the round of 16. .
A dizzying quarter-final victory over Mali followed, with the 10-man Ivorians equalizing in the 90th minute before scoring a winner in the 120th minute, and Wednesday's victory over the Congolese now sends the Elephants to the Sunday's final against Nigeria.
Just a year after returning to action following cancer treatment and surgery, Haller can now conclude his latest comeback with continental glory.
“What we all hope for, what we all dream of, is victory in the final,” he concluded. “We'll rest, we'll heal and we'll figure out how to deal with it.
“We have one more game ahead of us and of course it won't be easy, but it's up to us to get the win.”
