Africa: Rampant Cote d'Ivoire Crush Sierra Leone in TotalEnergies CAF Afcon Warm-Up

7 January 2024
Confederation of African Football (Giza)

Cote d'Ivoire fired a warning to their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations rivals by thrashing Sierra Leone 5-1 in Saturday's friendly ahead of hosting the continental showpiece.

The Elephants put on an attacking masterclass to sweep aside the Leone Stars in San Pedro, a week before the tournament kicks off.

Defender Ousmane Diomandé opened the scoring on 17 minutes, superbly teed up by Jeremie Boga from a free-kick.

Franck Kessie then lit up the Stade Laurent Pokou by rocketing an unstoppable volley into the top corner to make it 2-0 after 37 minutes.

Jonathan Bamba added a third for the rampant Ivorians just before the break, coolly rounding the goalkeeper to stroke home after an incisive team move.

Boga turned from provider to scorer early in the second period, exquisitely curling a free-kick beyond the despairing dive of Mohamed Kamara.

Substitute Lazare Amani grabbed Ivory Coast's fifth late on before Rodney Strasser netted a consolation penalty for the overwhelmed Sierra Leoneans.

"This performance will give us great confidence for the tournament," beamed Cote d'Ivoire boss Jean-Louis Gasset.

The imperious win sends an ominous message to Group A rivals Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.

Read the original article on CAF.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2024 Confederation of African Football. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.