Ivory Coast beat Ghana in AFCON qualifying opener
Ivory Coast defeated Ghana 2-0 at home in the opening match of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, with goals from Malick Yalcouye and Franck Kessie.
The Match
On Thursday, September 24, Ivory Coast hosted Ghana at the Stade de Bouake in Bouake in the opening fixture of Group C in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. According to Al Jazeera, kick-off was at 19:00 GMT. The hosts won 2-0, with goals from Malick Yalcouye and Franck Kessie, Al Jazeera's live coverage reported.
According to match statistics compiled by the BBC, Ivory Coast dominated possession, 67.3% to Ghana's 32.7%. The hosts also produced more attacking output, registering 9 shots to Ghana's 5, with 2 on target compared to none for Ghana. Ivory Coast also won 4 corners to Ghana's zero.
Context and Group
The match marked the start of qualification for the 2027 finals, to be held in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Group C also includes The Gambia and Somalia. In the next round, Ghana will host The Gambia while Ivory Coast travel to Somalia.
Both nations were recently eliminated in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup — Ivory Coast lost to Norway, while Ghana fell 1-0 to Colombia.
Coaches and Stars
Ivory Coast are led by French coach Herve Renard, back for a second spell after Emerse Fae departed following the World Cup. Renard previously won AFCON with Ivory Coast in 2015 and with Zambia in 2012. Ghana are managed by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, a former Real Madrid boss and Iran's longest-serving national team manager.
Ivory Coast were missing Manchester United's Amad Diallo, who is recovering from injury. Their squad featured Real Madrid's Yan Diomande, Atalanta's Franck Kessie and Villarreal's Nicolas Pepe. Ghana fielded Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo, Tottenham's Mohammed Kudus and captain Jordan Ayew.
History
This was the 38th meeting between the two sides — Ghana leads the head-to-head with 15 wins to Ivory Coast's 10. Ivory Coast are three-time AFCON champions (1992, 2015, 2023) and have beaten Ghana on penalties in two finals, in 1992 and 2015. Ghana have won the tournament four times but not since 1982.
