Ivory Coast, the host nation of the 2024 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau after strikes from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso.
The Ivorians eased to the win with Fofana opening scoring with a neat finish – sending the home fans in attendance wild – before Krass extended their lead just before the hour mark.
It wasn’t quite as goal-laden as their 5-1 friendly win over Sierra Leone last Saturday, but Ivory Coast have now scored at least twice in each of their last four matches, hitting the net 18 times across those games.
Guinea-Bissau have failed to score in their past eight matches at the Africa Cup of Nations, extending their own record for any team in the history of the competition.
Most of the players dropped to the turf as the final whistle was blown. The match clearly took it out of them, probably due to the high humidity, according to the BBC.
Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea will play today in the second Group A match at the same stadium at 14:00 GMT.
