Ivory Coast came close to taking the lead inside the first minute when what looked to be an attempted cross from Yan Diomande nearly caught Ernan Siluane out at his post, but to his relief, the ball found the side netting.
With the half-hour mark approaching, Diomande almost opened the scoring when he was picked out with a cross into the area before seeing his shot hit the ground and nearly loop over Siluane, who reacted well to tip it over the crossbar.
Competing in AFCON for only the sixth time in their history, Mozambique were doing well to stay in the contest, but they nearly found themselves behind on two more occasions when Ghislain Konan sent his close-range effort from narrowly wide, before Franck Kessie’s header from point-blank range was gathered by Siluane in the final minute of the first half.
Having spurned some presentable opportunities in the first half, it took the Ivory Coast just four minutes after the restart to hit the front. Kessi headed a cross into the area into the path of Amad Diallo, whose subsequent effort went through the legs of Reinildo Mandava before finding the net to give the reigning champions the lead.
The last couple of years has been a very positive period for the Elephants, with their AFCON triumph in 2023 and their qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, Emerse Fae’s side weren’t at their scintillating best for much of the contest, with clear-cut chances in the second half few and far between.
Kessie did come close to doubling their advantage just after the hour mark when his header flew narrowly wide of the right post.
Although they battled hard to keep the game alive, the Mambas never looked likely to find the goal that could have earned them a point for their efforts. Indeed, they were only able to register a single shot on target as their long winless run in the competition went on.
This result sees Ivory Coast extend their unbeaten record against Mozambique to eight matches, with the Elephants hoping this will be the start of another successful AFCON campaign.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)