Yalcouye makes dream debut as Ivory Coast beat Ghana in AFCON qualifier
JOHANNESBURG: Brighton striker Malick Yalcouye made a dream debut for Ivory Coast by scoring in a 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying victory over Ghana in Bouake on Thursday.
Brighton forward Malick Yalcouye scored his first international goal in Ivory Coast's 2-0 win over Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Bouake. The 20-year-old struck a shot from outside the box in the 44th minute that beat goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi at his near post. Captain Franck Kessie created the first goal, and veteran midfielder Kessie added a second on 58 minutes with a penalty.
Ghana suffered further setbacks with the late withdrawals of injured strikers Jordan Ayew and Antoine Semenyo. Herve Renard, who guided Ivory Coast to AFCON glory in 2015, returned to the dugout after his contract with the team was not renewed following a disappointing World Cup exit. In other matches, Tanzania and Uganda staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Sierra Leone 3-2, while the Democratic Republic of Congo edged out Equatorial Guinea 2-0.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
