January 14, (THEWILL) – Tournament hosts Ivory Coast delighted home fans by defeating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 to launch the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Saturday night. Strikes from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso propelled the Elephants to victory at Abidjan’s Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
The early lead came courtesy of Fofana, who clinically finished a low 4th-minute pass from Franck Kessie. The Manchester City youth product whipped his shot past Guinea-Bissau’s goalkeeper Djoco to put Ivory Coast up 1-0. Fofana nearly doubled the hosts’ advantage before halftime but his shot pinged off the crossbar.
Despite a plucky performance from the wildcard underdogs ranked 54 places below them, Ivory Coast continued dominating the match in the second half. Krasso patiently controlled a bounce in the box in the 58th minute before slotting home to make it 2-0.
Late substitute Mama Balde gave Guinea-Bissau brief hope when he threaded Franculino Dju through on goal, but the goal did not materialise and the deficit proved too much to overcome.
Ivory Coast’s clinical finishing and staunch defending ensured they secured the three points to delight the home fans. Up next, they face Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea as they seek to progress from Group A.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
