Ivory Coast defeated the African wild canines of Guinea-Bissau deservedly via goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso late Saturday night at the Olympic Stadium Ebimpe in Abidjan.
Fofana, 28, a professional for Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia, scored the opening goal of the AFCON 2023 standings in the fourth minute. He failed to score a brace for the duration of the tournament, hitting the woodwork in the 35th minute.
The Elephants of Ivory Coast scored the lone goal in the crucial first half of the fiercely contested match.
13 minutes into the second half, Krasso doubled the lead, inciting elation and hysteria in the host stadium section.
The orange-clad spectators of the host nation filled the 60,000-seat stadium with their melodies and rhythms.
In the 30th minute, Egyptian referee Amin Omar issued the initial yellow card of the tournament to Evan Ndicka of the host nation. Sangare received one as well.
Moro Cassama, representing the opposing team, received a booking with one minute remaining in the first half as a result of a violation committed against KrasSo.
The host nation made the following five substitutions: Singo, Diomande, Sangare, Krasso, and Bamba. Guinea-Bissau, on the other hand, substituted Cassama, Rodrigues, Balde, and Mane.
Both teams had ten shots each, with the hosts having four on target and the visitors having three.
Ivory Coast had 62% of the possessions at full time, while Guinea-Bissau had 38%.
As of Match Day 1, Ivory Coast holds a three-point lead in Group A.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles face Equatorial Guinea today at 3 p.m. (UTC+1).