Holders Ivory Coast defeated Burkina Faso 3-0 in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations and will face Egypt in the quarter-finals.
Published January 6, 2026
Manchester United winger Amad Diallo helped Ivory Coast beat Burkina Faso 3-0 on Monday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations as defending champions for the first time since 2010.
Diallo scored the first goal and Yann Diomande scored the second before half-time. In Marrakech, substitute Bazmana Touré scored in the final minute.
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Ivory Coast will now travel south to the Moroccan coastal city of Agadir to face record seven-time champions Egypt on Saturday for a place in the semi-finals.
Since Egypt successfully defended their title in Angola 16 years ago, seven title holders have failed to reach the last eight.
Cameroon and Senegal were eliminated in the last 16. Zambia, Ivory Coast and Algeria were eliminated after the group stage. And Egypt and Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament.
Burkina Faso defender Adamo Nagaro received a yellow card after just five minutes for a foul on Diallo. However, the Red Devils were disappointed with the resulting free-kick, which went embarrassingly wide.
Ivory Coast dominated possession and captain Franck Kessier was not far off target when he tried to send a shot onto the roof of the goal.
There was a sense of inevitability when the title holders took the lead in the 20th minute. Diallo shook off several defenders and hit the ball past goalkeeper Hervé Coffi.
Burkina Faso claimed that Nagaro had been body-checked by Evan Guesand and asked for the goal to be rescinded, but a VAR review confirmed the Sudanese referee’s decision to allow the goal.
On a cold, dry night in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, it was no surprise that Ivorian control increased their lead in the 32nd minute.
This time Diallo was the provider, passing the ball across the box to 19-year-old Diomande, whose neatly curved shot gave Kofi no chance and flew into the left corner.
Burkina Faso nearly halved the lead in a rare raid when Brentford striker Dango Ouattara cut in from the right and hit the base of the post. Relieving goaltender Yahia Fofana grabbed the rebound.
Burkina Faso coach Blama Traore dropped Nagaro as half-time approached and replaced him with midfielder Blati Toure. There was another change during the break, with striker Lassina Traore being replaced by Georgi Minungo.
Burkina Faso, who were unable to maintain possession in the opening 45 minutes, found more success when play resumed and came close to scoring at the one-hour mark.
Ouattara put in a low cross and Fofana reacted quickly at his near post to move the ball away from danger.
Burkina Faso brought on Sunderland striker Bertrand Traore with 20 minutes remaining. He made his AFCON debut in 2012 at the age of 16 and this will be his sixth appearance.
Ivory Coast’s counter-attack gave the unmarked Diallo another golden chance to score, but Kofi blocked his shot from close range with his foot at the expense of a corner kick.
Substitute Toure ran in from his own half in the 87th minute and smashed the ball over Kofi to score his second goal of the match.
