Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau score, result as Fofana, Krasso help hosts cruise to Africa Cup of Nations win

Brad Cox

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Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau score, result as Fofana, Krasso help hosts cruise to Africa Cup of Nations win image

Ivory Coast made an impressive start to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, securing a convincing 2-0 win against Guinea-Bissau on the tournament's opening night.

Goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso saw them cruise to victory at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe, home to a 60,000 crowd situated in Abidjan.

Fofana, a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, set the stage with a super strike, giving the Elephants an early lead. Krasso then doubled the scoring in the second half with a beautiful piece of individual skill. The striker, who started ahead of Sebastien Haller due to injury, took one touch to control before knocking the ball past two defenders and then slotting calmly past Ouparine Djoco.

The heat and humidity in West Africa are expected to prove difficult throughout the tournament and it took a toll on the players in the second half. The weather conditions were demanding and led to a visible decline in the players' intensity as the game progressed.

The Ivorians will hope to go far in this tournament, especially on home soil. Manager Jean-Louis Gasset has assembled a strong squad but has excluded Wilfried Zaha. Unfortunately, Haller missed out on Saturday night due to injury, but Jean-Phillipe expects he could be back for the second match.

Ivory Coast will face Nigeria on Thursday, which should prove to be a much tougher test as the Super Eagles will be led by Victor Osimhen of Napoli.

MORE: Explained: Why Wilfried Zaha is not in the Ivory Coast squad

AFCON schedule

The group stages end on January 24, with the knockout rounds beginning three days later, and the final is scheduled for February 11.

The full details are listed below.

Stage Dates Nations
Group Stage Jan. 13 — 24 24
Round of 16 Jan. 27 — 30 16
Quarterfinals Feb. 2 — 3 8
Semifinals Feb. 7 4
3rd Place Match Feb. 10 2
Final Feb. 11 2

MORE: Why is AFCON played in January?

Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau final score

  Final score Goalscorers
Ivory Coast 2 Fofana 4', Krasso 58'
Guinea-Bissau 0 —

Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau live updates, highlights from AFCON opening game

FT: That's it in Abidjan and Ivory Coast get their home tournament underway in the best way possible. They never looked in any danger tonight. 

90th minute: There are four minutes of added time. If we're being completely honest, both sets of players could do with this game finishing as they look exhausted. 

85th minute: Ze Turbo's header is mistimed at the back post, it was a half-chance at best. 

77th minute: Willy Boly of Nottingham Forest enters the pitch for the Ivorians. 

74th minute: An excellent opportunity for Guinea-Bissau, arguably their best of the night. Franculino, the fresh substitute, uses his pace to get in behind but his strike is right at Fofana.

67th minute: It's a double change for Guinea-Bissau. Franculino Dju and Carlos Mendes Gomes, who plays for League One side Bolton, replace Carlos Mane and Moreto Cassama.

61st minute: Substitutions for the hosts. Nicolas Pepe and Karim Konate come on for Krasso and Bamba. 

58th minute: GOAL! 2-0! What a finish from Krasso. He takes one touch to get it under control, and another to knock it past the two Guinea-Bissau defenders before beautifully slotting past Djoco. 

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51st minute: Despite the intense humidity, the intensity has been good from both sides to start the second half. You do, however, get the feeling Guinea-Bissa are going to need to counter well if they're to level things up. 

46th minute: The second half is underway! Serge Aurier comes on for Wilfried Singo. 

HT: That's it for the first half, Ivory Coast may only be one goal ahead at the break but they've been dominant in the opening 45. 

45th minute: Sangare also receives a yellow for a high elbow, which was rather reckless from the Ivorian.

44th minute: Cassama goes into the book for a late challenge on Krasso.

41st minute: Penalty appeal. Krasso goes down in the box but the referee waves play on! It's a fantastic ball from Boga and the striker easily goes down. 

35th minute: CLOSE! Fofana almost doubles his goal tally as he strikes it off the bar. It was a really good hit from outside the box. 

32nd minute: After a relatively fast start to the game, Ivory Coast are just enjoying possession of the ball and Guinea-Bissau are trying to play long ball. 

29th minute: Balde breaks on the counter as Rodrigues picks the pocket of N'Dicka but his effort is weak and right at Fofana.

25th minute: Ivory Coast players enjoyed that opening goal!

22nd minute: A clash of heads between Bamba and Cassama sees the game come to a halt as both players seek treatment.

16th minute: Fofana plays a brilliant ball in behind for Krasso to try and volley, which he does, but it sails over the bar. 

10th minute: The Elephants have been on top in these opening stages and Wilfried Singo sends a header over the bar from a corner kick. 

7th minute: Balde attempts the extraordinary as he tries to overhead kick the ball but just misses. It was a good chance for the Djurtus. 

4th minute: GOAL! 1-0 WOW! What a start to the tournament for the hosts. It's Seko Fofana who rockets a strike past Djoco. Guinea-Bissau gave him far too much space to get his shot away and the Al Nassr midfielder blasts it home. 

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1st minute: After a slight delay due to the speeches and national anthems, the football is underway!

5 mins until kickoff: Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football has been talking to the 60,000 fans in attendance and said: "This is going to be the best AFCON in the history of AFCON."

15 mins until kickoff: We're nearly ready for the first game of AFCON 2023, kickoff is next!

30 mins until kickoff: Team news is in!

1 hour until kickoff: It’s the first of 52 games and Guinea-Bissau are in the mood.

1 hour 30 mins until kickoff: Guinea-Bissau have never won a game at the Africa Cup of Nations, is tonight the night? 

2 hours until kickoff: Nothing but high spirits ahead of the opening match. The Elephants are ready. 

Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau lineups

With Ivory Coast without their household names, Wilfried Zaha, Eric Bailly and Nicolas Pepe, they will still be expected to perform at their home tournament. 

And a midfield three of Franck Kessie, Seko Fofana, and Ibrahim Sangare could help them in their bid to win their third African title. 

Ivory Coast starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): Y.Fofana (GK) — Singo, Diomamde, Ndicka, Konan — Kessie, Sangaré, S.Fofana — Bogo, Bamab, Krasso.

Ivory Coast subs (12): Seri, Kossounou, Konate, Boly, Diakite, Gradel, Aurier, Pepe, Kouame, B. Sangare, Doumbia, Diallo

 

The Djurtus will want to tighten up defensively as they were beaten 6-2 in a friendly against Mali last week and therefore they could go to a three at the back and compact the midfield. No matter which 11 players they select to start, they're serious underdogs in this one.

Guinea-Bissau projected starting lineup (3-5-2, left to right): Djoco (GK) — Cande, Djalo, Sangante — Encana, Semedo, Bikel, Cassama, Mane — Balde, Rodriguez.

Guinea-Bissau subs (12): J. Mendes, Dju, Nito, Dalcio, Gano, Marciano, Mendes Gomes, Mane, Nanu, Ze Turbo, Ie, H. Mendes.

How to watch Ivory Coast vs Guinea-Bissau: Live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch AFCON 2024 matches across selected areas of the world's major regions:

Region TV Streaming
USA beIN Sports Fubo, beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz
Canada beIN Sports Canada

Fubo Canada, beIN Sports Connect, Fanatiz

UK Sky Sports, BBC Sport Sky GO, Now TV, BBC iPlayer
Australia beIN Sports beIN Sports
India — FanCode

USA: The tournament will be available on beIN Sports with streaming options on Fubo.

Canada: BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage with Fubo Canada on streaming duty.

UK: Selected matches will be available on Sky Sports services with streaming available via Sky GO and Now TV. BBC Sport will also be covering designated games at the tournament.

Australia: BeIN Sports will provide broadcast coverage and streaming services for the tournament.

India: Streaming service FanCode is the place to go for AFCON 2024 matches.

Brad Cox

Brad Cox Photo

Brad is a content producer for The Sporting News and has previously worked for the likes of Squawka and The Athletic. His career highlight to date is reporting from the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final in Paris.