Host nation, Ivory Coast enjoyed a winning start to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Saturday evening.

The Elephants claimed a 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau in the opening game of the competition to live up to their favourites' tag.

Goals from Seko Fofana and Jean-Philippe Krasso were enough for the two-time AFCON champions to overcome their Group A opponents.

It just took four minutes for Ivory Coast to take the lead, thanks to Fofana's goal. The hosts took advantage of a poor ball from Jefferson Encada well outside the Guinea-Bissau box, and Fofana scored despite being surrounded by defenders.

While chances were few and far between, Guinea-Bissau retained some hope of staying in the game until just before the hour mark, when Opa Sangante's disastrous defending handed Krasso a chance, which he converted with ease.

Ivory Coast will look to make it two wins in a row when they take on Nigeria in their next fixture on January 18. On the same day, Guinea-Bissau will hope to recover when they meet Equatorial Guinea.