The Cote d’Ivoire national football team, the Elephants, kicked off the 2023 AFCON tournament with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea. The two goals, one in each half, from Sekou Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso, ensured the hosts got off on the best possible footing.
The 60,000-capacity Stade Alassane Ouattara was bedecked in orange as the Elephants started confidently and took the lead within five minutes from Fofana, who fired a beautiful rasper past Ouparine Djoco.
Wilfried Singo came close to adding a second in the ninth minute, but his header went wide.
The referee showed Elephants defender Evan Dicka, the first yellow card of the tournament after he caught Mauro Rodrigues. The Egyptian referee played the advantage, but Ousmane Diomande charged Mama Balde’s goal-bound shot down.
Fofana almost had his brace in the 35th minute, but Djoco got fingertips on the ball to tip it onto the crossbar.
The Elephants continued to play in second gear even though the Djurtus attacked sporadically but could not test Yahia Fofana, in goal for the Elephants.
The second half was a carbon copy of the first half, with Coach Jean-Louis Gasset sending on captain Serge Aurier for Singo. It was a tepid affair until Jean-Philippe Krasso scored the Elephants’ second in the 58th minute for his fourth goal in 10 appearances.
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Nicolas Pepe came on for Jonathan Bamba in the 61st minute; Karim Konate also came on for Krasso; Wily Boly came on for Diomande; and Idrissa Doumbia came on for Ibrahim Sangare in the 90th minute, as they held on to take the top spot in Group A with three points and two goals.
Matches in Group A continue on Sunday when the Super Eagles of Nigeria face off against Equatorial Guinea.
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