{"id":6484,"date":"2025-12-24T22:30:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T22:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6484"},"modified":"2025-12-24T22:30:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T22:30:47","slug":"amad-diallo-scores-goal-as-ivory-coast-win-against-mozambique-at-afcon-africa-cup-of-nations-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=6484","title":{"rendered":"Amad Diallo scores goal as Ivory Coast win against Mozambique at AFCON | Africa Cup of Nations News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>A lone goal by the Manchester United forward is enough for Ivory Coast to successfully begin their AFCON title defence.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 24 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">24 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Holders Ivory Coast squandered a number of chances, but Amad Diallo\u2019s goal early in the second half was enough to beat Mozambique 1-0 and give them a winning \u2060start to their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title defence.<\/p>\n<p>In the opening Group F \u200bgame on Wednesday in Morocco, the Ivorians battled to break down their \u200dopponents in a competitive first half but took firm control after the break without converting the many chances they created.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Diallo side-footed the ball into the net in the \u200d49th minute \u2060to ensure the three-point haul in rainy conditions, but the scoreline would have been a lot more emphatic had the Ivorians been sharper in front of goal.<\/p>\n<p>Wilfried Zaha, playing his first international in more than two years after his surprise recall for the Cup of Nations finals, wasted several chances, and Franck Kessie had two point-blank \u200befforts saved by Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan.<\/p>\n<p>Ivorian substitute Vakoun Bayo \u200calso had an opportunity with an easy header in front of goal but somehow put it wide, and in the 89th minute, Bayo had an effort cleared off the line \u200cwith Ernan caught well out of his goal.<\/p>\n<p>Mozambique brought on winger Dominguez as a second-half substitute \u200cat the age of 42 years, one month \u2060and six days, making him the oldest outfield player in tournament history behind only former Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who was 44 when he played in the 2017 final.<\/p>\n<p>Mozambique are \u200cstill to win a match at the finals, stretching back to their tournament debut in 1986. This is their sixth appearance with a record of \u200dfour draws and 12 losses.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4194540\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4194540\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4194540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251224__88Z72VH__v1__HighRes__FblAfr2025Match11CivMoz-1766608108.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Amad Diallo in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4194540\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diallo, centre, scores the only goal of the contest in the 49th minute [Khaled Desouki\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lone goal by the Manchester United forward is enough for Ivory Coast to successfully begin their AFCON title defence. Published On 24 Dec 202524 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Holders Ivory Coast squandered a number of chances, but Amad Diallo\u2019s goal early in the second half was enough [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}