AFCON2023: Ivory Coast kick-off With 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau

By Biwah Bryan

Ivory Coast’s Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso scored in each half as the hosts completed a 2-0 Group A victory over Guinea Bissau in the Africa Cup of Nations opening game played in energy-sapping humidity on Saturday..

Fofana scored a superb shot from the edge of the box to give his team a fourth-minute lead, while Krasso redeemed himself with an acrobatic finish just before the hour after missing an earlier chance.

Krasso then secured Ivory Coast’s victory with a second goal in the 58th minute capitalizing on hesitant defending and performing an acrobatic finish.

Despite several missing players through injury, Ivory Coast secured a positive start to their campaign in front of a 36,000 crowd.

Although their performance was far from perfect, Ivory Coast coach Jean-Louis Gasset will still know the importance of the three points gained at this early stage of the tournament.

Guinea-Bissau started the second half strongly, a lack of accuracy in their final passes meant they missed several opportunities to score.

Next up, Ivory Coast will face Nigeria, while Guinea-Bissau will take on Equatorial Guinea, with both games scheduled to be played at Abidjan’s Alassane Ouattara Stadium.