Young Elephant secure first victory against Nigeria in Africa U-23 Nations Cup opener
The Young Elephant began their U-23 Cup of Nations against favorites Nigeria on Saturday.
Ivory Coast secure their first win in the ongoing Africa U-23 Nations Cup against defending champions Nigeria on Saturday evening.
It was the opener of group B at the El Salam Stadium in Cairo as both teams were hoping to get a brighter start to the tournament.
The young Elephant were the better side in the first half as they dictated the flow of the game, but lacked the killer instinct up front for most of the first 45 minutes.
However, the best chances of the first 20 minutes in the first half had gone the way of Ivory Coast, especially Dao and Kouame brilliantly got the better off Nigeria defense on so many occasions.
Close to the end of the first half, Nigeria started to push for the open goal but their attacks were lacking the cutting edge to break the deadlock.
Tarek’s side, Ivory Coast took the lead in the second half after Silas Gnaka converted a penalty 71’ minute penalty.
Ivory Coast lead group B with three points as Zambia take on South Africa in the other fixture later today.
