4 Nations That Hosted and Won a Football Tournament in the Same Year Including Ivory Coast, France

• Ivory Coast defeated Nigeria in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament they hosted
• Qatar hosted the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and defended their 2019 title by defeating Jordan in the final
• South Africa were reinstated by CAF in 1992, hosted AFCON in 1996, and won their first tournament

It's the dream of any footballing nation to win a major international trophy.

While some have climbed the mountaintop and claimed gold, others have gone one better and won it in their own backyard.

With Ivory Coast claiming the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title, Sports Brief looks at six teams who won a trophy on home soil.

Six winning football tournament hosts

Ivory Coast

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The Elephants are the latest team to join an elite list of teams to win a major footballing tournament they hosted.

The host nation beat Nigeria in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to secure their third title. As noted by The Guardian, no team had won a major tournament after losing twice in the group stages.

They also trailed in the Round of 16 game, the quarter-final and the final but found a way to fight back and win all three.

Qatar

Much like the Ivory Coast, the 2023 edition of a continental competition brought success to Qatar on home soil.

The Middle Eastern country beat Jordan in the final by three goals to one to defend their Asian Cup title that they won in 2019.

Qatar also hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but home-ground advantage didn't work for them on that occasion.

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Brazil

The Samba Boys have won the Copa America nine times, with their latest win coming in 2019.

What made the victory all the more special for the side was that the tournament was played in Brazil. ESPN reported that Gabriel Jesus scored a goal and provided an assist as the host nation secured a 3-1 win over Peru.

Jesus, who played for Manchester City at the time, was also sent off for a second yellow card in the 70th minute of the game, but it did little to stop them from picking up an impressive win.

Australia

Home-ground advantage certainly helped Australia when they secured their first AFC Asian Cup title in 2015.

Hosted down under, the 15th edition of the Asian Cup saw Australia finally bag the big one.

The Socceroos beat South Korea 2-1 in the final to claim the title and qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup. Since then, they have been eliminated from the competition twice in the quarter-final. The UAE beat them in 2019, while South Korea dumped them out in 2023.

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France

Brazil have won more World Cups than any other team, but they came up short when they faced France in 1998.

Les Bleus beat the Samba Boys 3-0 to lift their first-ever World Cup trophy.

The New York Times reported that Emmanuel Petit scored one of the three goals, but it was Zinedine Zidane who stole the show. The French playmaker scored a brace to help his side to the title.

South Africa

1996 was a fairytale year for South Africa.

The country was originally expelled from every major world sports federation because of apartheid but was reinstated in 1992 by CAF. In 1996 they hosted the Africa Cup of Nations and surprised everyone when they went on to win it.

Bafana Bafana, led by Clive Barker at the time, beat Tunisia in the final to lift their one and only trophy.

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Sports Brief also previously reported how records were broken at AFCON 2023, following the conclusion of the tournament in Ivory Coast.

The Elephants claimed the bragging rights when they beat the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1 in the final to claim their third continental title.

The tournament, played over four weeks, set a new record for most goals scored at an AFCON tourney, beating the previous record by 19.