Tiote gave away his AFCON medal
Ivory Coast and Newcastle United midfielder Cheik Tiote
Tiote has also disclosed that he has given away his silver medal, which is a painful reminder to him.
“All the people in Ivory Coast, they love the national team and they love the country. So we are really disappointed because we did not win the competition.
“I gave my medal to my friend because I was really disappointed, I did not want to keep it so I gave it to my friend.
“We did well but we did not win it, maybe next year we will win competition,” said the Newcastle man.
Tiote who was under pressure to slot in the first penalty of the shoot-out, explains how he took responsibility by stepping up.
“Normally I never take penalties but I took the responsibility to take the first penalty because it was difficult for other players to take a penalty.
“So I took the responsibility to take the first penalty, which I scored and that gave confidence to my teammates.
“But although we did well in the competition, in the final we were unlucky with the penalty shoot-out and we lost the game.
“That is football - you can’t win every time, so I will look to the next game and stay positive,” concluded Tiote.
That next game, however, will be a Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers this Saturday.
The Ivorian has missed the Magpies’ last seven matches since he made his last appearance in the 3-0 win over Manchester United.
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