Ivory Coast snatch vital win as Ghana stutter in AFCON opener

Ivory Coast opened their AFCON 2027 qualifier campaign against its Ghanaian counterpart on Thursday night with a comfortable 2-0 win at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, Cote d’Ivoire, to grab the first spot in Group C.

The match started with the host country probing the Ghana Black Stars for an early lead with much intent and the majority of the ball possession, which later paid off, with the first goal of the game coming within a minute of half-time.

Former AC Milan and Al-Ahli midfielder Franck Kessie found his counterpart Malick Yalcouye in a good position around the edge of Ghana’s defensive area, after working the ball forward.

Read more: Coventry forward Brandon Thomas-Asante receives late Black Stars call-up

Yalcouye then finished the move himself, putting the ball beyond Lawrence Ati-Zigi to give the Ivory Coast a hard-fought 1–0 lead just before halftime.

The Black Stars went into half-time without a single shot on target, after a total of five shots with less than 35% of ball possession in the first half.

Ghana head coach Carlos Quieroz’s men came into the second half of the game poised to make amends. However, the Stars failed to make any meaningful impact or pose any significant threat to their opponent.

Early in the second half, Ivory Coast winger Yalcouye — who had already opened the scoring just before halftime — burst into the box and was brought down by Ghana’s Abdul Fatawu Issahaku.

Referee Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria) pointed straight to the spot for the foul. Ghana’s players surrounded the referee to protest the decision, delaying the kick by a couple of minutes, but the call stood.

Captain Franck Kessie stepped up, stayed composed through the delay, and sent goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi the wrong way to convert in the 58th minute, doubling Ivory Coast’s lead to 2-0.

The Black Stars continued from where they left off in the 2026 World Cup with yet another poor showing. They went into such a crucial away game against one of the continent’s powerhouses with a depleted 24-man squad.

Nine players from the originally called-up squad had opted out of the double-header of AFCON qualifiers and an international friendly between Ghana and Morocco during the September-October international break.

Captain Jordan Ayew pulled out just 48 hours before the match after a scan revealed a knee/groin problem.

Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham) — technically “opted out” rather than being injured; he chose to stay at Tottenham to continue his fitness recovery after returning from a long injury layoff.

Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City) — withdrew with a swollen ankle, while Baba Rahman (left-back) — reported to camp but was ruled out on assessment.

Thomas Partey, Jan Gyamerah and Nathaniel Adjei were not included in the original squad due to injury concerns.

Prince Kwabena Adu (Viktoria Plzen) — stretchered off with a head injury in a club match, ruled out before he could even join.

Alidu Seidu — reported fitness concerns (though later re-added to the squad in the reshuffle)

Of this group, Kudus is the one most accurately described as the player who actually opted out of the squad — raising serious questions about his commitment.

Some quarters of the Ghanaian media, after Kudus’ withdrawal, raised questions about whether he was fit enough to be named but chose to prioritize club recovery over international duty; however, the rest were genuine injury withdrawals.

To fill these gaps, Queiroz brought in Jonas Adjetey, Ebenezer Annan, Rockson Yeboah, Rahim Ibrahim, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Mohammed Fuseini, Benjamin Tetteh, and Felix Afena-Gyan.

With three points and an opportunity to lead Group C already gone. The Black Stars will be poised to make amends after a disappointing start to the AFCON campaign by grabbing a significant win at the Accra Sports Stadium on 29 October, when they clash with Gambia.

This could be early days, but a win in the second fixture is the only result that could restore confidence and earn massive backing from the already disgruntled and disappointed fans back in Ghana.