AFCON Daily: Ivory Coast triumphant in curtain raiser
Welcome to AFCON Daily, the Sports Gazette’s one-stop-shop for Africa Cup of Nations action!
Each morning, we’ll catch you up on yesterday’s games and prepare you for another day of exciting fixtures. Today, we’re breaking down Ivory Coast’s 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau and previewing three fixtures from the second day of AFCON 2023.
Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau
The host nation made a winning start to AFCON, defeating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Seko Fofana opened AFCON 2023’s goalscoring catalogue with a stylish finish early in the contest and The Elephants added a second through Jean-Philippe Krasso in the second-half.
Evan Ndicka was a commanding presence in a robust Ivorian back-line, while Franck Kessié orchestrated from midfield.
With Nigeria on the horizon in their next game in Group A, The Elephants will take confidence from three points and a solid performance.
Nigeria are expected to challenge Ivory Coast for Group A’s top spot
Fofana gave Ivory Coast a fourth minute lead with a crisp curled effort into the far corner.
Guinea-Bissau threatened in the 29th minute, but Mama Baldé lacked conviction after bursting through on goal.
Fofana almost added a second for the Ivorians six minutes later, but Ouparine Djoco tipped his thunderous effort onto the crossbar.
However, The Djurtus’ goalkeeper was unable to save his side in the 58th minute as Krasso’s acrobatic finish doubled The Elephants’ lead.
A 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 early contender for goal of the tournament from Jean-Philippe Krasso there 🤸🏾👏#CIVGNB | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/jC7L0Ov42X
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 13, 2024
Guinea-Bissau were boosted by the introduction of Franculino Djú in the 67th minute, and only a smart save from Yahia Fofana denied the young striker a goal in the 74th minute.
What’s on today?
Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea (14:00 GMT)
Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau got the ball rolling in Group A last night, but now it’s Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea’s time to shine.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was crowned African men’s player of the year at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) awards last month, and he spearheads a Nigeria attack that could feature fellow Serie A mercurials Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman, of AC Milan and Atalanta respectively.
Chukwueze (L) and Lookman (R) facing off in Serie A
Victor Boniface, who has 10 Bundesliga goals for league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, misses the tournament due to injury.
The Super Eagles have questions to answer about their defensive solidity, with goalkeeping a particular dilemma, so they will be coveting a clean sheet in their opening fixture.
Francis Uzoho is one option in goal
Equatorial Guinea’s ‘National Thunder’ will need a perfect storm to ground the Super Eagles, but they have only conceded four goals in 2023.
Can they maintain this record against Nigeria’s star-studded front-line?
Egypt vs Mozambique (17:00 GMT)
Egypt take on Mozambique as Mo Salah begins his quest for the title that has so cruelly eluded him.
The Pharaohs reached the final of the previous tournament, but lost to Senegal on penalties. They will be hoping to go one step further in the Ivory Coast, returning with a largely unchanged squad.
Egypt and Ghana are expected to top Group B
While Egypt have won seven AFCON titles, Mozambique have won zero AFCON games.
AFCON 2023: Five underdogs hoping to win their first AFCON game
They will be hard-pressed to get a result here, but a win would feel like an AFCON trophy.
Ghana vs Cape Verde (20:00 GMT)
Ghana are another storied AFCON nation, with four titles to their name.
Their hopes for this tournament rest largely on the young shoulders of West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus, but he is recovering from a minor injury.
Kudus has six goals in the Premier League this season
The Blue Sharks of Cape Verde may be quietly confident heading into this fixture.
Their record under coach Pedro Brito is impressive and the prospect of a potentially Kudus-less Ghana will be enticing.
Tune in tomorrow to find out how these fixtures turn out…
