A spectacular early strike from Seko Fofana put hosts Côte d’Ivoire on the way to a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau in the opening game of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023 on Saturday (13 January).
Fofana, who plays at Saudi club Al Nassr alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, collected the ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a vicious right-foot shot into the net with less than four minutes on the clock inside Abidjan’s Alassane Ouattara Stadium.
The midfielder came close with a similar effort 10 minutes before half-time, but Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper Oupaine Djoco tipped it onto the bar.
Côte d’Ivoire, seeking a third continental men’s football crown after previous triumphs in 1992 and 2015, dominated for long periods of the Group A clash without creating too many clear-cut chances.
Mama Balde had the underdogs’ best chance in the 29th minute, but his weak shot was easily saved by Yahia Fofana after Mauro Rodrigues reacted quickly to a lapse in the home defence.
And Côte d’Ivoire doubled their lead in the 58th minute as Jean-Philippe Krasso improvised well to juggle the ball in the penalty area before hitting a slightly awkward-looking left-foot shot past Djoco.
Guinea-Bissau came close to halving the deficit with 18 minutes to go after Balde pounced on a defensive error and teed up Franculino Dju, but the substitute’s effort was well kept out by Yahia Fofana.
Dju and Junior Ze Turbo looked lively after coming on for Guinea-Bissau with both sets of players toiling in the humid conditions, but they were unable to put their side on the board as Côte d’Ivoire made a solid start to their title bid.