Ivory Coast beat Ghana in opening AFCON 2027 qualifier — MyJoyOnline

The Ivory Coast national team defeated Ghana 2-0 in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, in the first qualifying match for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The hosts took the lead in the 29th minute thanks to a powerful strike by Malick Yalcouyé from outside the penalty area, while Franck Kessié converted a penalty in the second half.

Hosts’ advantage

Ghana, aiming to return to the continental tournament after missing the previous edition, failed to create enough scoring opportunities. Carlos Queiroz’s team played without several injured players, including captain Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey.

In the middle of the first half, Ernest Nuamah attempted a long-range shot after noticing that the Ivory Coast goalkeeper had come off his line, but the ball went wide. According to MyJoyOnline, the Ghanaian team had not registered a single shot on target before the second goal and trailed their opponents in possession, 38% to 62%.

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Penalty and group standings

In the second half, Yalcouyé entered the penalty area down the left flank and fell after contact with Fatawu Issahaku. The referee awarded a penalty despite protests from Ghana’s players. After a lengthy delay, Kessié scored from the penalty spot in the 56th minute.

In the 64th minute, Queiroz made a triple substitution, after which the Ghanaians became more active in attack. Only late in the match did Benjamin Tetteh and Caleb Yirenkyi register the first shots on target. In stoppage time, Felix Afena-Gyan and Augustine Boakye, who made his debut for the national team, had chances to reduce the deficit, but the score remained unchanged.

After the defeat, Ghana are bottom of Group C ahead of the match between Gambia and Somalia. Ghana’s next qualifying match will be against Gambia on September 29 at a stadium in Accra.