Ivory Coast dominates Guinea-Bissau in the opening match of its tournament

Successful entry into the running for the Elephants. In the fervor of its Alassane-Ouattara stadium in Ébimpé, Côte d’Ivoire launched its African Cup of Nations in the best possible way, Saturday January 13, by winning the opening match against Guinea -Bissau (2-0). A logical success as Jean-Louis Gasset’s players posed a threat to the opposing goal, despite the absence of their scorer, Sébastien Haller, who was still a little physically weak.

Not one to bother with pressure, Seko Fofana took charge of operations to liberate the host country after just four minutes of play, with a heavy strike of which he has the secret. Highly visible, the ex-Lensois came close to doubling the lead in the same way but his attempt was this time diverted by goalkeeper Oparine Djoco on his crossbar (34th). It was finally another former Ligue 1 player, in the person of Jean-Philippe Krasso, who put the locals away thanks to an acrobatic number in the opposing area (58th).

A victory for the 100th in the African Cup

LThe Bissaoguineans had a few opportunities to score, like Lyonnais Mama Baldé (29th) or Franculino (73rd), but they came up against the rough defense of the men in orange. “We have been preparing for this match for a very long time. The day was not easy: a lot of adrenaline, not a lot of rest. Everything was not perfect, which is good because it will allow us to remain humble and to correct any mistakes we may have made.judged Seko Fofana after the meeting at the microphone of beIN Sports.

For its 100th match in the African Cup, the Côte d’Ivoire nevertheless enforced the hierarchy. Enough to perfectly prepare for the shock of its group A against Victor Osimhen’s Nigeria on Thursday. For its part, Guinea-Bissau will face Equatorial Guinea.