Afcon 2023: Ivory Coast 2-0 Guinea-Bissau - Fofana and Krasso on target
The Ivory Coast team began their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations journey by defeating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 as the hosts.
At the beginning of the Group A match in Abidjan, Seko Fofana scored an excellent goal for the Elephants by hitting the ball into the net from a short distance away in only the fourth minute.
He came close to increasing the lead before the end of the first half, however, another strong attempt was saved by Ouparine Djoco as it hit the crossbar.
Jean-Philippe Krasso scored a goal in the second half of the game by skillfully controlling the ball under pressure in the penalty box.
The 2023 Afcon tournament has been postponed for six months and will now take place in early 2024. This decision was made to avoid the wet season in West Africa. However, the postponed tournament has allowed Ivory Coast to complete their arrangements with a budget of over one billion dollars.
The Elephants were aiming to win their third continental victory, having previously won in 1992 and 2015. However, they were dealt a blow as their top striker Sebastien Haller was unable to play due to injury.
The midfielder Fofana scored the first goal of the game with a powerful right-footed shot that went inside the right-hand post. He received the ball from Franck Kessie and managed to avoid two defenders before shooting.
During the first half, Mama Balde missed the opportunity to score for Guinea-Bissau by hitting the ball weakly when he was in the box. Djoco made a good save which prevented the scoreline from further extending to 1-0. Fofana played a significant role in the game as he caught the ball that was cut back from the right.
In the 58th minute, Krasso skillfully juggled the ball and then seamlessly pivoted and struck in a left-footed shot from a distance of eight yards, which doubled the lead.
During the last 20 minutes of the game, Franculino took a direct shot at Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana. However, even though the Djurtus have managed to qualify for their fourth consecutive Afcon, they were not able to score. As a result, they are still waiting to secure their first victory during the finals.
On Sunday at 2:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time, Nigeria will compete against Equatorial Guinea in their second Group A match. Later in the day, Group B will begin with 2021 runners-up Egypt and four-time champions Ghana also taking part.
